Weaver Consulting Group Trims Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Weaver Consulting Group cut its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 22.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 492 shares of the company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the period. Weaver Consulting Group’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth about $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the 3rd 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 period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth $58,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LLY. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $885.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 1.0 %

LLY opened at $773.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $733.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.58, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $788.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $861.70. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $609.59 and a twelve month high of $972.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. Eli Lilly and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 earnings per share for the current year.

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 issued a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.86%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% 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.