Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Price Up 0% – What’s Next?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s share price rose 0% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $809.12 and last traded at $805.14. Approximately 421,632 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 3,913,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $804.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LLY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $997.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $782.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $845.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $770.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.41. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The business’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.85 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 56.22%.

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

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,089,563,000 after buying an additional 85,823 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $11,041,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,448,888 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $5,417,970,000 after purchasing an additional 157,741 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $4,481,175,000 after purchasing an additional 169,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,954,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,731,168,000 after purchasing an additional 12,044 shares in the last quarter. 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.