Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Sells 2,910 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. cut its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 50.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,827 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,910 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inscription Capital LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 1,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.4% in the third quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 2,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.3% in the third quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 5,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,447,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.5% in the third quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LLY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,007.94.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $874.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $829.82 billion, a PE ratio of 74.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $801.33 and a 200-day moving average of $846.75. 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 has a one year low of $711.40 and a one year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 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 86.26%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.24%.

Eli Lilly and 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.