Welch & Forbes LLC Increases Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Welch & Forbes LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 146,980 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,088 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for about 1.5% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $113,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 358.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 55 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LLY. Citigroup lowered their target price 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. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,007.50.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:LLY opened at $912.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $824.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $849.05. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $711.40 and a twelve month high of $972.53. The company has a market capitalization of $865.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share 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 85.24%. As a group, research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company 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 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 0.66%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 51.24%.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program 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 programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.