Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Position Increased by First Merchants Corp

First Merchants Corp raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 56,199 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company comprises 1.7% of First Merchants Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $43,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on LLY shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays cut their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 3.1 %

LLY stock opened at $844.82 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 firm has a market capitalization of $802.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $711.40 and a 52-week high of $972.53. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $794.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $844.34.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 EPS for the current year.

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 paid a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.41%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.