Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Down 2.5% – Time to Sell?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) shares dropped 2.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $741.01 and last traded at $738.72. Approximately 1,490,098 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 3,895,282 shares. The stock had previously closed at $757.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on LLY. Citigroup upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lowered 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $784.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $856.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market cap of $695.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.19, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its 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). The business had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. Eli Lilly and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 56.22%.

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

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the 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 approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,089,563,000 after acquiring an additional 85,823 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 12,448,888 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,115,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,417,970,000 after buying an additional 157,741 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,058,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,481,175,000 after buying an additional 169,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,027,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,741,832,000 after acquiring an additional 22,392 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.