D Orazio & Associates Inc. Cuts Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

D Orazio & Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 19.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,933 shares of the company’s stock after selling 458 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,090,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,089,563,000 after purchasing an additional 85,823 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,041,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,448,888 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,115,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,417,970,000 after purchasing an additional 157,741 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,058,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,481,175,000 after purchasing an additional 169,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,954,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,731,168,000 after purchasing an additional 12,044 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $997.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of LLY opened at $878.09 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $789.87 and its 200 day moving average is $843.31. 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 $711.40 and a 12-month high of $972.53. The company has a market capitalization of $833.58 billion, a PE ratio of 74.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.42.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 86.26%. Research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. 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. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.24%.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

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.