Eli Lilly and Company $LLY Stock: ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Stake

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,003 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,315 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $11,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LLY. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 44.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 13,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,223,000 after purchasing an additional 4,024 shares during the period. Hudock Inc. lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.9% in the third quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,543,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 5.3% in the third quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 380 shares of the company’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,119,000. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 293.8% during the third quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 2,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after buying an additional 1,507 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald Zakrowski sold 2,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,185.01, for a total transaction of $2,370,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,808,325.26. The trade was a 56.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,175.10, for a total value of $7,638,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 54,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,628,139.70. This represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 13,500 shares of company stock worth $15,958,170 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Eli Lilly and Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group raised their FY2026 EPS estimate to $36.55 from $36.45 and their FY2027 forecast to $47.30 from $47.18, reinforcing expectations for continued profit growth above consensus. Analyst earnings estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary continues to highlight Lilly’s dominant position in diabetes and obesity treatments, strong revenue growth and a pipeline that could support further expansion beyond Zepbound. Retatrutide is viewed as a particularly important future growth opportunity ahead of the company’s October 29 earnings report. Retatrutide earnings outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Lilly is collaborating with Prelude Therapeutics to test the experimental breast-cancer drug PRT13722 in combination with established therapies. Enrollment is expected to begin in the fourth quarter, adding potential long-term oncology value to Lilly’s pipeline. Prelude and Lilly breast cancer collaboration
• Positive Sentiment: Broader oncology spending is projected to exceed $400 billion globally by 2028, creating an attractive market backdrop for Lilly’s cancer-drug development and partnerships. Cancer drug spending outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: A Phase 1 food-effect study for tersolisib represents incremental pipeline progress, but the early-stage trial is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings or valuation. Tersolisib study update
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a concern after a roughly 404% five-year rally. Lilly trades at a high earnings multiple, so the stock may need sustained obesity-drug growth and successful pipeline launches to justify its price. Investors also face near-term volatility around the upcoming earnings release and clinical data.
• Negative Sentiment: A combination treatment generated greater weight loss than Zepbound in reported findings, but discontinuation rates were substantially higher, highlighting potential tolerability and adherence challenges for next-generation obesity therapies. Obesity-drug combination results

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on LLY. UBS Group set a $1,376.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,367.00 to $1,371.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,251.00 to $1,334.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,400.00 to $1,500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,313.43.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $1,211.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,177.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,104.28. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $783.85 and a one year high of $1,292.65.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $8.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.40 by $1.98. The business had revenue of $22.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 33.53% and a return on equity of 97.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.31 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 35.500-36.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 34.79 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1876 by Colonel Eli Lilly, the company researches, develops, manufactures and markets medicines for a range of conditions, including diabetes, obesity, cancer, immunological disorders, neurological diseases and pain.

Its products include Mounjaro and Zepbound, which contain tirzepatide and are used for type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management, respectively. Other key medicines include Trulicity for diabetes, Verzenio for certain breast cancers, Taltz for inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, Humalog insulin, and Kisunla for early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.