Tufton Capital Management Acquires 212 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Tufton Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,789 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the quarter. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Veridan Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter worth $224,000. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 185.3% during the 4th quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,004,000 after acquiring an additional 1,686 shares in the last quarter. Motco boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Motco now owns 13,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,396,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,978,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 39.9% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop Partners LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LLY shares. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,000.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,000.28.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

NYSE:LLY opened at $904.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $811.83 and a 200-day moving average of $848.85. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $711.40 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The company has a market capitalization of $857.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.26, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.42.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 51.24%.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.