Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Acquires 1,332 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,111 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $9,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LLY. Garner Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.0% during the third quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 679 shares of the company’s stock worth $602,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors now owns 767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 1,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 2.1 %

LLY stock opened at $930.12 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $711.40 and a twelve month high of $972.53. The company has a market cap of $881.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.43, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $822.55 and a 200-day moving average of $848.61.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LLY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,007.50.

Eli Lilly and 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.