National Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives Raises Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

National Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,600 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the quarter. National Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives’ holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $15,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. James Hambro & Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. James Hambro & Partners LLP now owns 340 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.0% during the third quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 1,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Detalus Advisors LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% in the third quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LLY. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays cut their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $844.82 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $794.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $845.27. The company has a market cap of $802.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $711.40 and a 12-month high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 86.26% and a net margin of 23.51%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.41%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.