Merit Financial Group LLC Sells 5,024 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Merit Financial Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 52.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,534 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,024 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at about $215,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.4% in the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 353,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,815,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LLY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $850.00 to $892.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $900.00 to $1,001.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $885.00 price objective (up from $815.00) on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $675.00 to $895.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $757.95.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE LLY traded down $20.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $734.97. The company had a trading volume of 4,595,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,629,045. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $419.80 and a one year high of $800.78. The company has a market capitalization of $698.52 billion, a PE ratio of 108.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $761.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $670.56.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.94 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 17.08% and a return on equity of 56.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.83 EPS for the current year.

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.