Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA Raises Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 703.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,450 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,145 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company comprises 1.3% of Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LLY. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,245,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,389,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after buying an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,246,000 after buying an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 29,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,690,000 after acquiring an additional 7,646 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LLY. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $997.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the completion of 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 represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $827.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $784.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $843.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $785.48 billion, a PE ratio of 89.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.42. 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 52 week low of $682.53 and a 52 week high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 56.22%.

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

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.