Sheets Smith Wealth Management Has $10.75 Million Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,923 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 858 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company makes up about 1.3% of Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $10,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beck Bode LLC bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter worth about $15,036,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 474,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,650,000 after buying an additional 70,122 shares during the period. APG Asset Management US Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.8% during the second quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 204,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,831,000 after buying an additional 1,586 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 6.7% in the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 703,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $594,058,000 after acquiring an additional 44,133 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,027,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,741,832,000 after acquiring an additional 22,392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of LLY opened at $766.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $727.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.81, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $624.68 and a one year high of $972.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $776.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $850.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. 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 is presently 56.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on LLY shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein began 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 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

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.