Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Given “Buy” Rating at Bank of America

Bank of America restated their buy rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $997.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $884.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $800.85 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $760.26 billion, a PE ratio of 86.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $561.65 and a 52-week high of $972.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $841.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $871.97.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LLY. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,041,631,000 after acquiring an additional 12,448,888 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 92,759.9% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,022,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,774,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021,287 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 90,438.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 937,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $848,403,000 after acquiring an additional 936,033 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 37,140.7% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 694,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,990,000 after acquiring an additional 692,303 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 71.6% in the second quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,512,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,369,825,000 after acquiring an additional 631,312 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% 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.