Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seventeen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $997.22.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LLY. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target 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. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $1,000.00 target price for the company.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related 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 value of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,089,563,000 after acquiring an additional 85,823 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,041,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,448,888 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,115,504 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,417,970,000 after purchasing an additional 157,741 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,058,101 shares of the company's stock worth $4,481,175,000 after purchasing an additional 169,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,954,047 shares of the company's stock worth $1,731,168,000 after buying an additional 12,044 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:LLY traded down $11.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $811.61. The stock had a trading volume of 2,560,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,594,702. The stock has a market cap of $770.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $783.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $844.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $637.00 and a 12-month high of $972.53.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The firm 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 company's revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 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 yield of 0.74%. Eli Lilly and Company's payout ratio is 64.86%.

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.