Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Eli Lilly and Company $LLY

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,467 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,820 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $8,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Steph & Co. boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 290.0% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 39 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 263.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 40 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC restated a “hold” rating and set a $1,070.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,200.00 to $1,280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $1,260.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,203.75.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $1,057.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $999.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.55. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $623.78 and a one year high of $1,133.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1,052.25 and its 200 day moving average is $899.06.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $7.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.48 by $0.06. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 31.66% and a return on equity of 112.50%. The firm had revenue of $19.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 42.6% on a year-over-year basis. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 33.500-35.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $1.73 dividend. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 30.15%.

Key Stories Impacting Eli Lilly and Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and stunning 2026 guidance — Lilly reported strong Q4 revenue and EPS and issued 2026 guidance well above Street expectations, which sparked the initial rally as investors priced in sustained GLP?1 growth and margin leverage. Eli Lilly Booms, Then Busts: Stellar Guidance vs Hims Undercut
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raising price targets — Multiple banks (JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Cantor Fitzgerald) lifted LLY price targets and kept overweight/positive views after the results, supporting upside expectations. Price Target Raised to $1,300.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Target Raised to $1,313.00 at Morgan Stanley Price Target Raised to $1,205.00 at Cantor Fitzgerald
• Positive Sentiment: Manufacturing and capacity expansion — Lilly is expanding GLP?1 capacity and building greenfield sites to meet volume demand, which investors view as a durable competitive advantage versus peers constrained by supply. Eli Lilly Expands GLP-1 Capacity While Building Beyond Obesity And Diabetes
• Neutral Sentiment: Obesity market size and longer?term thesis — Coverage highlights a very large addressable market (approaching ~$100B for obesity drugs), reinforcing the long?term growth story even as short?term skirmishes play out. Eli Lilly vs Novo Nordisk: The 1 Figure Investors Shouldn’t Ignore
• Neutral Sentiment: Fund/score coverage — Research pieces (Zacks, institutional letters) reinforce Lilly’s growth ranking and investor interest, but are confirmatory rather than catalytic. Eli Lilly (LLY) is a Top-Ranked Growth Stock: Should You Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pricing pressure from compounded copies — Hims & Hers launching low?cost compounded semaglutide pills ($49 introductory) triggered a selloff as investors feared erosion of pricing/patient share for branded oral options. This remains the main short?term risk to LLY’s oral launch economics. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly fall after Hims & Hers announce $49 copy of Wegovy pill
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal noise — Separately, securities?law firms have flagged investigations into certain transactions and board conduct; these are reputational/legal items to monitor but not yet material to the core GLP?1 thesis. Investor Alert: Scott+Scott Investigates Directors and Officers

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.