Joule Financial LLC Decreases Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Joule Financial LLC lowered its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 29.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 288 shares of the company’s stock after selling 119 shares during the period. Joule Financial LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LLY. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 24,879 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on LLY shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target for the company. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $726.24 on Tuesday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $612.70 and a 1-year high of $972.53. The company has a market capitalization of $689.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $781.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $854.04.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The company had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business 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 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 dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.