Vantage Investment Partners LLC Purchases 943 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,321 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 943 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up 1.2% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $13,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 27.9% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 504 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the second quarter worth approximately $323,000. RiverFront Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the second quarter worth approximately $256,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $565,000. Finally, Clear Rock Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Eli Lilly and Company 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 transaction of $723,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial lifted 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 research note on Thursday, October 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE LLY opened at $803.01 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $762.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.81, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $637.00 and a twelve month high of $972.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $779.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $846.28.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors 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 given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s 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.