Guidance Capital Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Guidance Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $933,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,245,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,246,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,690,000 after purchasing an additional 7,646 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LLY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target for the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 3.4 %

LLY opened at $870.56 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $707.02 and a fifty-two week 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. The stock has a market cap of $826.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $786.57 and its 200 day moving average is $843.28.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 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 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.