Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Has $3 Million Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. lessened its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,879 shares of the company’s stock after selling 270 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company comprises 1.7% of Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LLY. Beck Bode LLC acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter valued at about $15,036,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter valued at about $546,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.9% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,542,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.4% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 822 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Certified Advisory Corp raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.6% during the second quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 4,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,679,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $726.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $689.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $612.70 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $781.14 and a 200-day moving average of $854.04.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LLY. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

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.