Cullen Investment Group LTD. Acquires 53 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,815 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 53 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for approximately 1.5% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $9,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 24,879 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LLY. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 1st. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

NYSE LLY opened at $742.80 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $784.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $857.48. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $612.70 and a 52-week high of $972.53. 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 stock has a market cap of $705.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.30, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The business had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. 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 0.81%. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 64.86%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.