Brokerages Set Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Price Target at $1,002.22

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $1,002.22.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LLY. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 1st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on 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.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% during the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 24,879 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE LLY opened at $773.09 on Wednesday. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $609.59 and a twelve month high of $972.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $733.91 billion, a PE ratio of 83.58, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $788.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $861.70.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.86%.

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.