Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Sold by Forza Wealth Management LLC

Forza Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,725 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cooper Financial Group lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% in 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 period. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 14,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,318,000 after buying an additional 1,147 shares in the last quarter. Talbot Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 21,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,425,000 after purchasing an additional 4,199 shares during the last quarter. Asset Allocation & Management Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth $262,000. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 218,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,694,000 after acquiring an additional 2,143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LLY. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

LLY stock traded up $4.66 on Monday, reaching $804.56. 2,139,072 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,964,724. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $612.70 and a twelve month high of $972.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $786.08 and a 200-day moving average of $859.41. The firm has a market cap of $763.78 billion, a PE ratio of 86.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio is 64.86%.

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.