B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Cuts Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,307 shares of the company’s stock after selling 923 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up about 0.9% of B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $33,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exome Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 7.7% in the third quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 10,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,255,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 7.2% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 5,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,641,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 16.4% in the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,338,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. FFG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 41.7% in the third quarter. FFG Partners LLC now owns 17,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,106,000 after acquiring an additional 5,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,328,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $789.27 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $833.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $870.65. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $561.65 and a one year high of $972.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $749.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.33, a PEG ratio of 3.02 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.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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 $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 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. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.22%.

Insider Activity

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 stock was 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 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 at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LLY. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $885.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $884.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average 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.