Apollon Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 38.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,651 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,421 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $15,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 113.7% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 331,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,964,000 after buying an additional 176,552 shares during the last quarter. Values Added Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 445 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Montis Financial LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Montis Financial LLC now owns 513 shares of the company’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the third quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 3,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,469,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on LLY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased 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 research note on Monday, November 4th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays dropped 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Four equities 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY opened at $878.09 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market cap of $833.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $789.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $843.31. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $711.40 and a 52 week high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 86.26% and a net margin of 23.51%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.24%.

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

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.