Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 24.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 511 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 27.9% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter worth about $256,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.9% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,645,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 102.4% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,522,000 after buying an additional 3,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 230.2% during the 2nd quarter. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 4,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,744,000 after buying an additional 2,801 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LLY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $997.22.

Insider Activity

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $823.59 on Friday. 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 $781.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $780.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $845.98. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The firm 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 for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.