Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Takes Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LLY. Grassi Investment Management lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 79,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,383,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $262,000. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Woodstock Corp grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 8,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,383,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 450 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total value of $818,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,778,521.60. This trade represents a 14.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on LLY. Citigroup reduced their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,100.00 to $1,050.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,011.37.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LLY opened at $757.23 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $797.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $805.69. The company has a market cap of $717.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $677.09 and a 12 month high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $3.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.64 by ($1.30). The business had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.77 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. Eli Lilly and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 48.82%.

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.