Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Down 1.5% – Here’s Why

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s stock price was down 1.5% on Monday . The company traded as low as $783.61 and last traded at $787.77. Approximately 836,399 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 2,776,282 shares. The stock had previously closed at $799.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on LLY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 0.2 %

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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $784.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $857.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $708.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.72, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.41.

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 the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast 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 disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.86%.

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

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LLY. One Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,768,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 90,438.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 937,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $848,403,000 after acquiring an additional 936,033 shares during the period. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $812,000. Excalibur Management Corp raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 1,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 20,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.