Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,210 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14 shares during the quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Greystone Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $660,000. Lattice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $786,000. Dahring Cusmano LLC purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $270,000. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 17,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,383,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,007.94.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE LLY opened at $874.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $829.82 billion, a PE ratio of 74.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $801.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $846.75. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $711.40 and a 1-year high of $972.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share 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 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend 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 (DPR) is 51.24%.

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.