Empirical Asset Management LLC Purchases 80,301 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 160.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 130,451 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 80,301 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up about 2.9% of Empirical Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $100,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cvfg LLC acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter valued at $3,547,000. Constitution Capital LLC boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock worth $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,129,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,148 shares of the company's stock worth $1,658,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock traded down $31.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $726.24. The stock had a trading volume of 5,497,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,736,766. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $781.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $854.71. The firm has a market cap 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 has a one year low of $612.70 and a one year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is an increase 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LLY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America reissued 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, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

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.