Hodges Capital Management Inc. Has $8.43 Million Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 63.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,926 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,248 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $8,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LLY. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 24,879 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of LLY stock opened at $827.41 on Wednesday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $682.53 and a 1-year high of $972.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market cap of $785.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.45, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $784.69 and a 200-day moving average of $843.49.

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 given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the 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 directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% 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.