Czech National Bank Grows Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 170,840 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,143 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company comprises approximately 1.2% of Czech National Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $131,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth about $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% during the third 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, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 24,879 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on LLY. Barclays dropped their price target 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 note on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $885.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $799.39 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $758.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.42, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $786.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $859.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $612.70 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The company had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 EPS for the current year.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.75%. This is a positive change 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 payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

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.