Smith Thornton Advisors LLC Has $613,000 Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Smith Thornton Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 73.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 794 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 335 shares during the quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LLY has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays reduced 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 research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $758.70 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $784.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $856.70. The company has a market cap of $720.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 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 has a twelve month low of $612.70 and a twelve month high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted 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 the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The firm’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.