Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 6,307 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 44.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,551 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,307 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $15,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,041,631,000 after acquiring an additional 12,448,888 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 92,759.9% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,022,388 shares of the company's stock worth $905,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,287 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 37,140.7% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 694,167 shares of the company's stock valued at $614,990,000 after purchasing an additional 692,303 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 71.6% in the second quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,512,983 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,369,825,000 after purchasing an additional 631,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 100.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,165,696 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,032,737,000 after purchasing an additional 584,866 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 owns 5,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LLY traded down $31.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $726.24. 5,497,108 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,736,766. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $612.70 and a 52-week high of $972.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $781.14 and a 200-day moving average of $854.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $689.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 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 (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. Analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued 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 is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on LLY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $1,100.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America reaffirmed 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. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.