Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company $LLY

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 77.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 56,671 shares of the company’s stock after selling 198,123 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $60,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,965,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,087,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,885 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,361,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,002,744,000 after purchasing an additional 635,358 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 20.9% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 25,088,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,141,787,000 after purchasing an additional 4,332,008 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,593,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,757,510,000 after purchasing an additional 407,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,031,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,154,619,000 after purchasing an additional 61,851 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

More Eli Lilly and Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and research notes continue to turn more upbeat on Eli Lilly’s earnings outlook, with Erste Group lifting FY2026 and FY2027 EPS estimates and Goldman Sachs reiterating a buy rating on the back of an encouraging obesity-treatment pipeline. Goldman Sachs Maintains a Buy Rating on Eli Lilly (LLY), Cites Encouraging Obesity Treatment Pipeline
• Positive Sentiment: Eli Lilly’s strong growth story is still resonating with investors: recent coverage says the stock is in a buy zone, institutional funds are adding shares, and the company remains a leader in the GLP-1 obesity market after a big earnings beat and raised guidance. Eli Lilly Stock Hits Buy Zone As Earnings Soar 156%. Funds Are Loading Up.
• Positive Sentiment: The company also added a new growth angle by expanding its chronic pain pipeline, including new Phase 2 trials in osteoarthritis and chronic low back pain, which could broaden Lilly’s long-term revenue base beyond obesity and diabetes. Eli Lilly Expands Chronic Pain Pipeline With New Osteoarthritis Trial
• Positive Sentiment: FDA progress for Ebglyss, including an easier once-every-eight-weeks maintenance regimen, adds another commercial catalyst and supports Lilly’s push to diversify into dermatology. FDA Ebglyss Decision Adds New Thread To Eli Lilly Growth Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Lilly also unveiled an AI partnership with Abridge, aimed at speeding drug development, trial enrollment and research; that is strategically positive, but it is a longer-term story than a near-term earnings driver. Eli Lilly’s Abridge Bet Links Healthcare AI To Valuation And Growth
• Negative Sentiment: A key overhang is growing concern that some employers may reduce or drop coverage for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs in 2027, which could pressure demand and reimbursement for Lilly’s obesity franchise. Some US employers to drop coverage of GLP-1 obesity drugs in 2027 as use increases 2026-06-11

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LLY shares. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $950.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,133.00 to $1,251.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,227.74.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $1,137.01 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $623.78 and a fifty-two week high of $1,182.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.39, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $998.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,016.72.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.97 by $1.58. The business had revenue of $19.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.82 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 105.77% and a net margin of 34.98%.The company’s revenue was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.34 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 35.500-37.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 35.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.58%.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is a global pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and therapies for patients worldwide. Eli Lilly maintains operations and commercial presence across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions, serving both developed and emerging markets. The company has been led in recent years by President and Chief Executive Officer David A.