Avanza Fonder AB Takes $2.32 Million Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,316,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated 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 target for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 1st. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LLY traded down $31.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $726.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,497,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,736,766. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $612.70 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $781.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $854.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market capitalization of $689.43 billion, a PE ratio of 78.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Eli Lilly and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.86%.

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 buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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.