Verus Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Verus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LLY. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake 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 during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 24,879 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $823.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $780.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $845.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $781.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $637.00 and a 1 year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal 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 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 yield of 0.73%. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LLY. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays cut their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $997.22.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other 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 value of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.