Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Price Target Raised to $1,100.00

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,007.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 2.1 %

LLY stock opened at $930.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $881.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.43, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $711.40 and a twelve month high of $972.53. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $822.55 and a 200-day moving average of $848.61.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS 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. Stockholders 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.24%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the fourth 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% during the fourth 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 19.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $8,407,908,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,757,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,304,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493,673 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.