Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading 0.7% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) rose 0.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $880.32 and last traded at $873.36. Approximately 863,579 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 3,692,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $867.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LLY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $797.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $845.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $830.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.42.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 86.26%. Equities research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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 given a $1.50 dividend. 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.24%.

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 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LLY. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,248,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,320,226,000 after buying an additional 475,530 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,382,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,389,651,000 after buying an additional 291,875 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,625,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,747,214,000 after buying an additional 2,012,129 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 12,448,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $8,407,908,000. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.