Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Increases Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 345.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,479 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,125 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $8,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 113.7% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 331,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,964,000 after purchasing an additional 176,552 shares in the last quarter. Values Added Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.9% during the third quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Pursue Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth $364,000. Goldstone Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth $260,000. Finally, Tevis Investment Management increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% during the third quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 925 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $920.44 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $711.40 and a 12-month high of $972.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market cap of $872.73 billion, a PE ratio of 78.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $814.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $849.10.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (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%. On average, 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 authorized a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. 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. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LLY. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Redburn Atlantic raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,000.28.

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.