Eli Lilly and Company $LLY Stock: Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,487 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $17,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 60.0% in the first quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 40 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 357.1% in the 3rd quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 32 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $64,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LLY has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,425.00 to $1,625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,400.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,600.00 to $1,650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,300.00 to $1,605.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,416.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,175.10, for a total transaction of $7,638,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 54,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,628,139.70. This trade represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Anat Hakim sold 5,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,402.52, for a total transaction of $7,012,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,802,225.24. This trade represents a 54.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Eli Lilly and Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Foundayo met the primary endpoint in a Phase 3 trial for obstructive sleep apnea, reducing breathing interruptions by up to an average of 44%. Lilly plans to seek FDA approval for the additional use by year-end, which could broaden the pill’s commercial opportunity beyond weight loss. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $1,700 and maintained a Buy rating, signaling continued analyst confidence in Lilly’s prospects. Jefferies price target
• Positive Sentiment: Lilly’s agreement with Hims & Hers and a similar arrangement with LifeMD expands digital access to its branded obesity medicines, including Zepbound and Foundayo. Hims’ share-price decline following its own disappointing results appears company-specific; coverage reported Lilly holding steady. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: The FDA is requiring GLP-1 drugmakers to add warnings about a possible increased risk of NAION, a rare eye condition that can cause sudden, potentially permanent vision loss. The class-wide warning could raise safety concerns for patients and investors, though the condition is rare. CNBC article

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $1,432.60 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,225.57 and a 200-day moving average of $1,104.56. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $850.51 and a 1 year high of $1,453.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 46.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.40.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $7.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.71 by $1.77. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 31.90% and a return on equity of 86.76%. The business had revenue of $24.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.02 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 35.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.46%.

Eli Lilly and Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets medicines for people and animals. Its work spans areas including diabetes and obesity, cancer, immunology, neuroscience and pain management. The company’s medicines include treatments for diabetes and obesity, such as Mounjaro and Zepbound, as well as products for cancer and other conditions. Lilly also conducts research into new medicines and invests in the development of treatments across its therapeutic areas.