Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Bought by Leavell Investment Management Inc.

Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,434 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $4,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 113.7% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 331,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,964,000 after purchasing an additional 176,552 shares in the last quarter. Values Added Financial LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.9% during the third quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.4% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 22.3% in the third quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,387,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Petredis Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.3% in the third quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,137,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on LLY. 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 target price on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $872.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $792.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $843.94. The stock has a market cap of $828.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $711.40 and a 1-year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 86.26% and a net margin of 23.51%. Analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.41%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.