Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Up 2% – Time to Buy?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s stock price rose 2% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $888.53 and last traded at $890.68. Approximately 971,711 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 3,670,633 shares. The stock had previously closed at $873.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LLY has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research initiated 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 on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target 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 note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,000.28.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $828.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.65, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $801.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $847.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. Equities analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.24%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LLY. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,407,908,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 100,387.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,202,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,016,110,000 after purchasing an additional 5,197,038 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,625,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,747,214,000 after purchasing an additional 2,012,129 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,730,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,740,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,645,222 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,240,653,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

About Eli Lilly and Company

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.