Eli Lilly and Company $LLY Stock Position Trimmed by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp trimmed its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 3.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,703 shares of the company’s stock after selling 519 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up 0.9% of Westpac Banking Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $12,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LLY. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Basso Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 342.9% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 31 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Dorato Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LLY shares. Weiss Ratings raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,300.00 to $1,385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,344.00 to $1,347.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $880.00 to $900.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,251.00 to $1,334.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,283.64.

Key Eli Lilly and Company News

Here are the key news stories impacting Eli Lilly and Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentary pieces highlighted Lilly’s leadership in GLP-1 obesity treatments, its expanding pipeline, and the view that its growth outlook remains strong despite intensifying competition from Novo Nordisk.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst-focused coverage continued to point to Lilly’s momentum from Zepbound and Mounjaro, with investors still treating the company as a core winner in the fast-growing weight-loss and diabetes market.
• Positive Sentiment: Broader healthcare stocks also moved higher, which likely provided a supportive backdrop for Eli Lilly shares during the session.
• Neutral Sentiment: Eli Lilly defended its advertising, saying its comparisons are based on the SURMOUNT-5 trial, while noting Novo’s criticism centers on the use of older dose comparisons rather than direct head-to-head data.
• Negative Sentiment: Novo Nordisk sued Eli Lilly in U.S. federal court, accusing the company of false and misleading advertising for Zepbound and Mounjaro and seeking to stop the ads, force corrective marketing, and recover damages. Reuters article about the lawsuit

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $1,175.15 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,126.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,037.68. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $623.78 and a fifty-two week high of $1,249.45.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.97 by $1.58. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 105.77% and a net margin of 34.98%.The firm had revenue of $19.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.34 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 35.500-37.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 34.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 24.58%.

Eli Lilly and Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is a global pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and therapies for patients worldwide. Eli Lilly maintains operations and commercial presence across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions, serving both developed and emerging markets. The company has been led in recent years by President and Chief Executive Officer David A.