Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases 5,197,038 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 100,387.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,202,215 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,197,038 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for 2.3% of Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $4,016,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Garner Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 5,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,447,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 883 shares of the company’s stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 679 shares of the company’s stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors now owns 767 shares of the company’s stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on LLY. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,000.28.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:LLY opened at $915.47 on Thursday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $711.40 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $808.88 and a 200 day moving average of $848.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $868.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.18, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS 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 85.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.24%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management 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.