Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Price Up 1% – Still a Buy?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) shares traded up 1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $787.00 and last traded at $779.77. 538,739 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 3,211,798 shares. The stock had previously closed at $772.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LLY. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $742.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. 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 50 day moving average price of $793.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $863.74.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The business had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

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

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LLY. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% during 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 during the period. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

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.