Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Up 0.2% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) shot up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $782.70 and last traded at $779.61. 401,563 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 1,137,937 shares. The stock had previously closed at $778.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LLY. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $793.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $863.55. The company has a market capitalization of $742.35 billion, a PE ratio of 84.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. 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 (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 64.86%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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 value of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,246,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $901,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $991,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, SK Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth about $264,000. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.