Weaver Capital Management LLC Buys 580 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 32.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,342 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,245,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,389,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,246,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,690,000 after acquiring an additional 7,646 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $870.56 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $786.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $843.28. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $707.02 and a one year high of $972.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $826.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.11, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.42.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LLY shares. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity.