StrongBox Wealth LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

StrongBox Wealth LLC cut its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,281 shares of the company’s stock after selling 58 shares during the quarter. StrongBox Wealth LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% during the 3rd 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on LLY. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target for the company. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 1.6 %

LLY stock opened at $758.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $720.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.02, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $612.70 and a 1-year high of $972.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $784.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $856.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict 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. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership 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.