Welch & Forbes LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY – Free Report) by 6.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 129,753 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,896 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for 1.2% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $69,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Retirement Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 159.1% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 57 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the company’s stock.
Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 0.8 %
Shares of LLY traded up $5.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $628.58. The company had a trading volume of 3,125,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,390,396. The company has a market capitalization of $596.72 billion, a PE ratio of 113.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $309.20 and a one year high of $647.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $597.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $558.34.
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $9.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.88 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 48.12% and a net margin of 15.55%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.88%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LLY shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, January 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $600.00 to $700.00 in a report on Friday, October 6th. TheStreet cut Eli Lilly and Company from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Wednesday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $583.24.
Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company
In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.10, for a total transaction of $382,637.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,688,738.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.10, for a total transaction of $382,637.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,688,738.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 14,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $630.28, for a total value of $9,068,468.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,754,422 shares in the company, valued at $62,873,217,098.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 63,120 shares of company stock valued at $39,862,068 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.
About Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It 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; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes.