Vicus Capital Buys 104 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Vicus Capital raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 23.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 548 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $423,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 113.7% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 331,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,964,000 after acquiring an additional 176,552 shares during the period. Values Added Financial LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.9% in the third quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.8% in the third quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 5.1% in the third quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 3.1 %

LLY opened at $844.82 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $802.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $794.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $844.34. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $711.40 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 86.26%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target 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 research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.50.

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.