Heartland Bank & Trust Co Sells 55 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co cut its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,646 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up 1.9% of Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $703,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 2,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,619,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 62,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,430,000 after purchasing an additional 3,934 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,323,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,765,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of LLY stock opened at $803.01 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $779.81 and its 200 day moving average is $846.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $762.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $637.00 and a 12-month high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend 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 56.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on LLY. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $997.22.

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.