Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Up 1.1% – Still a Buy?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s stock price was up 1.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $915.22 and last traded at $906.5130. Approximately 5,868,781 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 46% from the average daily volume of 4,028,862 shares. The stock had previously closed at $896.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LLY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Monday. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,028.00 to $1,023.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $840.00 to $930.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $700.00 to $800.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $940.00.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 1.1%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $784.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $772.35. The company has a market cap of $857.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $7.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.60. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 25.91% and a return on equity of 92.72%. The company had revenue of $17.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 53.9% on a year-over-year basis. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 23.000-23.700 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jamere Jackson bought 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $639.56 per share, for a total transaction of $127,912.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,013,143.12. This represents a 2.17% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David A. Ricks bought 1,632 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $644.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,052,264.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 546,601 shares in the company, valued at $352,431,926.77. The trade was a 0.30% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired a total of 4,514 shares of company stock worth $2,894,841 in the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 97.5% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 101,305,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,669,349,000 after purchasing an additional 50,002,551 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 80,407,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,680,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,038 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,707,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,495,261,000 after purchasing an additional 81,587 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 78,621.2% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,552,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,005,392,000 after purchasing an additional 11,537,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,827,714,000. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.