Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Price Target Cut to $970.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) had its price objective lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

LLY stock opened at $823.59 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $637.00 and a 12 month high of $972.53. The stock has a market cap of $781.85 billion, a PE ratio of 89.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $780.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $845.98.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 56.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LLY. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,041,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,448,888 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 92,759.9% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,022,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,774,000 after buying an additional 1,021,287 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 37,140.7% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 694,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,990,000 after buying an additional 692,303 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 126,531.5% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 678,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $523,991,000 after acquiring an additional 678,209 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 100.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,165,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,032,737,000 after acquiring an additional 584,866 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% 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.