Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,970 shares of the company’s stock after selling 591 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% in the third 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. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 92,759.9% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,022,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,774,000 after buying an additional 1,021,287 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 37,140.7% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 694,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,990,000 after acquiring an additional 692,303 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 100.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,165,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,032,737,000 after acquiring an additional 584,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 599.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 430,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,710,000 after purchasing an additional 369,293 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 3.4 %

NYSE LLY opened at $870.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $826.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $786.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $843.28. 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 has a 12 month low of $707.02 and a 12 month high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. As a group, research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership 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 given a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LLY. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. StockNews.com downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.50.

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.