Asset Dedication LLC Trims Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Asset Dedication LLC lowered its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 30.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,050 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,215 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC's holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company's stock worth $5,245,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company's stock worth $236,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,246,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company's stock worth $22,690,000 after purchasing an additional 7,646 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LLY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $1,100.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $1,000.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $997.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE LLY traded down $11.62 on Friday, hitting $811.61. 2,560,693 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,849,697. The firm has a market cap of $770.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.41. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $782.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $845.82. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $637.00 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The business 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 was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.85 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company's payout ratio is presently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.