Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Price Up 1.3% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) were up 1.3% on Thursday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $930.00 to $1,100.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Eli Lilly and Company traded as high as $949.90 and last traded at $938.13. Approximately 6,409,144 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 58% from the average daily volume of 4,058,820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $925.81.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $895.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on 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. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $948.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,100.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $700.00 to $800.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $950.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, Director Jamere Jackson purchased 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $639.56 per share, with a total value of $127,912.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,013,143.12. This trade represents a 2.17% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David A. Ricks purchased 1,632 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $644.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,052,264.64. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 546,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $352,431,926.77. The trade was a 0.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 4,514 shares of company stock worth $2,894,841. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 54.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,069,000 after acquiring an additional 2,338 shares during the period. Indie Asset Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 623.8% during the third quarter. Indie Asset Partners LLC now owns 9,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,030,000 after purchasing an additional 7,941 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 6.7% in the third quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 51.9% in the third quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 26.9% during the third quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $886.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $792.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $773.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $7.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.42 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $17.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 92.72% and a net margin of 25.91%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 53.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 23.000-23.700 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 29.35%.

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.