Sunflower Bank N.A. Boosts Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,800 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth about $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 24,879 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on LLY shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $885.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

LLY opened at $797.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $756.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $785.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $858.62. 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 has a 12-month low of $612.70 and a 12-month high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released 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). The business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. 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 0.75%. 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 (DPR) is 64.86%.

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.