Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Price Down 1.2% – What’s Next?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) was down 1.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $788.50 and last traded at $790.11. Approximately 841,605 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 3,195,755 shares. The stock had previously closed at $799.58.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LLY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $885.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $884.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $835.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $870.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $749.13 billion, a PE ratio of 84.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LLY. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 5,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,641,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 16.4% during the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,338,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. FFG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 41.7% during the third quarter. FFG Partners LLC now owns 17,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,106,000 after buying an additional 5,020 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter valued at about $34,328,000. Finally, American Trust lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 2,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,306,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Eli Lilly and Company

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.