GSB Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

GSB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 39.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 820 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 94.2% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 27.9% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 504 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the second quarter valued at $2,114,000. Wallace Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter valued at $321,000. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,819,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:LLY opened at $808.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $776.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $848.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $767.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.37, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $637.00 and a 1-year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released 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). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 56.22%.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LLY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on 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 lowered their target price on shares of 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 upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted 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 note on Friday, October 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and 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.