Smith Thornton Advisors LLC Has $613,000 Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Smith Thornton Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 73.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 794 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LLY. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,089,563,000 after purchasing an additional 85,823 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,041,631,000 after buying an additional 12,448,888 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in 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 last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,058,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,481,175,000 after buying an additional 169,391 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the second 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 last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LLY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective 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. Barclays dropped their target price 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE LLY opened at $758.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $784.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $856.70. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $612.70 and a 12 month high of $972.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $720.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.02, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced 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 net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.