Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,354 shares of the company’s stock after selling 156 shares during the period. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,245,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,246,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,690,000 after acquiring an additional 7,646 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 1.1 %

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $868.57 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $789.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $843.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market cap of $824.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 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.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted 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 86.26% and a net margin of 23.51%. On average, analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management 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 issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. 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 a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LLY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective on the stock. 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 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.50.

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.