Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Has $2.40 Million Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,107 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up about 1.2% of Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Variant Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $218,000. Greystone Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $660,000. Lattice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $786,000. Dahring Cusmano LLC acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $270,000. Finally, Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,007.94.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

NYSE LLY opened at $874.12 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $711.40 and a 1 year high of $972.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $801.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $846.75. 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 company has a market cap of $829.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.42.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 51.24%.

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.