Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Declares Share Repurchase Program

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LLY shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $885.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 0.3 %

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $800.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $760.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 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 has a fifty-two week low of $561.65 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $841.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $871.97.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.