Hilltop Partners LLC Buys 497 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Hilltop Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 39.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,743 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 497 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Partners LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,245,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisory Group bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $514,000. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,389,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $834,000. Finally, Cooper Financial Group boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after buying an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on LLY shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,000.28.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $904.76 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $711.40 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $811.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $848.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a market cap of $857.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. Research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share 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. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 51.24%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.