Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Down 0.8% – Should You Sell?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s stock price traded down 0.8% on Friday . The company traded as low as $786.01 and last traded at $788.02. 455,472 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 3,214,434 shares. The stock had previously closed at $794.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LLY. Barclays lowered 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America reiterated 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $885.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $809.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $867.80. The company has a market cap of $742.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 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 (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 0.77%. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 64.86%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LLY. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 48 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

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.