E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. Invests $105,000 in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Algert Global LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 504 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,905,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Ted Buchan & Co acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,780,000. Finally, Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $323,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on LLY shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $975.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein started 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 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s 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 completion of 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 can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $804.87 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $778.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $847.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market cap of $764.08 billion, a PE ratio of 87.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $637.00 and a 12 month high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 56.22%.

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

Eli Lilly and 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.