Haverford Financial Services Inc. Buys Shares of 3,728 Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Haverford Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,878,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 358.3% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 55 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $93,000. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LLY has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $1,146.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,009.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total transaction of $818,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,778,521.60. This represents a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of LLY stock opened at $839.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $795.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.69, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $711.40 and a one year high of $972.53. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $835.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $839.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. Sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.