Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Down 0.1% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) traded down 0.1% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $784.86 and last traded at $786.28. 955,202 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 2,607,299 shares. The stock had previously closed at $787.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on LLY. Barclays lowered their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 1st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $752.81 billion, a PE ratio of 85.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average is $786.48 and its 200 day moving average is $860.65.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The business’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, 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 0.76%. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date 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 share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 85,823 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,041,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,448,888 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,058,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,481,175,000 after purchasing an additional 169,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,581,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,242,296,000 after buying an additional 171,595 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.