Essex Savings Bank Has $8.53 Million Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Essex Savings Bank trimmed its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,054 shares of the company’s stock after selling 274 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for about 2.1% of Essex Savings Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $8,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% during 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 raised its holdings 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 24,879 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective for the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Insider Activity

In other Eli Lilly and Company 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 1.6 %

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $758.70 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $612.70 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $720.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $784.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $856.70.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 56.22%.

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

Eli Lilly and Company 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.