Emprise Bank Sells 28 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Emprise Bank lessened its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 576 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28 shares during the quarter. Emprise Bank’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% during the third 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, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the 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 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 position. 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.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

LLY traded down $7.67 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $792.23. The company had a trading volume of 1,211,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,824,737. 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 stock has a market cap of $752.08 billion, a PE ratio of 85.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $612.70 and a 12-month high of $972.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $786.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $859.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly 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 business 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 quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors 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 paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost 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 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LLY. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a 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 report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

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.