Wealthspire Advisors LLC Buys 1,672 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,709 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,672 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $6,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,089,563,000 after acquiring an additional 85,823 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,115,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,417,970,000 after purchasing an additional 157,741 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,058,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,481,175,000 after purchasing an additional 169,391 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,954,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,731,168,000 after purchasing an additional 12,044 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 15.2% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,544,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,368,320,000 after purchasing an additional 204,243 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America reissued 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. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price target on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,000.28.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

NYSE LLY opened at $874.12 on Monday. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $711.40 and a one year high of $972.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $801.33 and a 200 day moving average of $847.66. The company 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 51.24%.

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

Eli Lilly and 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.