Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Trims Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,210 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14 shares during the quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 12,448,888 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 92,759.9% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,022,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,287 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 37,140.7% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 694,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,990,000 after purchasing an additional 692,303 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 126,531.5% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 678,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $523,991,000 after purchasing an additional 678,209 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 100.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,165,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,032,737,000 after purchasing an additional 584,866 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:LLY opened at $874.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $801.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $846.75. The stock has a market cap of $829.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.42. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $711.40 and a 1 year high of $972.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 86.26% and a net margin of 23.51%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LLY shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed 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. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,007.94.

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.