Aspire Capital Advisors LLC Has $489,000 Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Aspire Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 33.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 633 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 160 shares during the quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in 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 worth $5,245,000 after buying an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% during the fourth 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. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,246,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA lifted its position in 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 period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LLY has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. 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 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their price target 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. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

LLY stock opened at $823.59 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $780.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $845.98. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $637.00 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $781.85 billion, a PE ratio of 89.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion for 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 revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.