Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $950.1667.

LLY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,135.00 target price (up previously from $1,133.00) on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $700.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Sunday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel Skovronsky bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $634.40 per share, for a total transaction of $634,400.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 137,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,331,504. This trade represents a 0.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David A. Ricks bought 1,632 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $644.77 per share, with a total value 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. This represents a 0.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 4,514 shares of company stock worth $2,894,841 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 97.5% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 101,305,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,669,349,000 after acquiring an additional 50,002,551 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 80,407,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,680,004,000 after buying an additional 1,183,038 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 103,831.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,866,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,278,292,000 after buying an additional 14,852,076 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,707,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,495,261,000 after buying an additional 81,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 78,621.2% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,552,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,005,392,000 after buying an additional 11,537,661 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $704.7540 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $758.91 and a 200 day moving average of $792.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $667.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.44. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $623.78 and a 12-month high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $6.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.59 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 25.91% and a return on equity of 92.72%. The company’s revenue was up 37.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.92 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 21.750-23.000 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.22%.

About Eli Lilly and Company

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.