Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Price Down 2.5% - Here's What Happened

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) traded down 2.5% on Friday . The company traded as low as $741.01 and last traded at $738.72. 1,490,098 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 3,895,282 shares. The stock had previously closed at $757.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LLY shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 1st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $1,100.00 target price for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 4.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $689.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.51, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $783.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $856.02. 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 (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company's payout ratio is presently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LLY. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company's stock worth $11,041,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,448,888 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 92,759.9% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,022,388 shares of the company's stock valued at $905,774,000 after buying an additional 1,021,287 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 37,140.7% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 694,167 shares of the company's stock worth $614,990,000 after acquiring an additional 692,303 shares during the period. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 71.6% in the 2nd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,512,983 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,369,825,000 after acquiring an additional 631,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 100.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,165,696 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,032,737,000 after acquiring an additional 584,866 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company's stock.

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.