Bill Few Associates Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Bill Few Associates Inc. decreased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,125 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,865,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 2,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 257 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc now owns 1,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $784.78 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $745.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $624.68 and a 1-year high of $972.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $775.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $850.34.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.86%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LLY. Barclays decreased their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research began coverage on 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,002.22.

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 transaction of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.