Index Fund Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Index Fund Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 645 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the period. Index Fund Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LLY. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,245,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,246,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,690,000 after purchasing an additional 7,646 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LLY opened at $872.98 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $711.40 and a fifty-two week high of $972.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $792.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $843.94. The company has a market cap of $828.74 billion, a PE ratio of 74.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 86.26%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 EPS for the current year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $997.50.

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.