Eli Lilly and Company’s (LLY) Buy Rating Reiterated at Bank of America

Bank of America reiterated their buy rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in a report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $997.00 target price on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $885.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,106.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $782.35 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $837.49 and its 200 day moving average is $871.40. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $561.65 and a one year high of $972.53. The firm has a market cap of $742.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.21 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $1.50 dividend. 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 yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 5,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,641,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,338,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. FFG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 41.7% during the 3rd quarter. FFG Partners LLC now owns 17,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,106,000 after purchasing an additional 5,020 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,328,000. Finally, American Trust grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 2,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,306,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.