Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading 0% Higher After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) shot up 0% on Tuesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $814.00 and last traded at $803.94. 786,789 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 3,197,941 shares. The stock had previously closed at $803.58.

The newly announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on LLY. Barclays cut their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial raised their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $884.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $839.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $871.92. The stock has a market cap of $756.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.15, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.21 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 7.2% in the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 5,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,641,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 16.4% in the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,338,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. FFG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 41.7% in the third 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 stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter worth approximately $34,328,000. Finally, American Trust increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.6% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 2,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.