Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Announces Dividend Increase – $1.50 Per Share

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, December 9th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of 1.50 per share on Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30.

Eli Lilly and Company has raised its dividend payment by an average of 15.2% per year over the last three years. Eli Lilly and Company has a payout ratio of 23.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Eli Lilly and Company to earn $23.62 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.0%.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 2.9 %

NYSE:LLY opened at $802.94 on Tuesday. 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 one year low of $561.65 and a one year high of $972.53. The company has a market cap of $762.25 billion, a PE ratio of 86.80, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $841.04 and a 200-day moving average of $871.97.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the 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 directly owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LLY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of 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. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $885.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,002.22.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally 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.