774 Shares in Eli Lilly and Company $LLY Purchased by Letson Investment Management Inc.

Letson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 67,540,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,009,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,558 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,215,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,438,262,000 after purchasing an additional 605,752 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,522,666,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,209,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,647,153,000 after buying an additional 137,364 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,461,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,550,587,000 after buying an additional 400,538 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LLY. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,425.00 to $1,625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,430.00 to $1,596.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,250.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,273.00 to $1,284.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,497.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,416.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,175.10, for a total transaction of $7,638,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 54,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,628,139.70. The trade was a 10.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Anat Hakim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,402.52, for a total value of $7,012,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,802,225.24. The trade was a 54.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Eli Lilly and Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Foundayo met the primary endpoint in a Phase 3 trial for obstructive sleep apnea, reducing breathing interruptions by up to an average of 44%. Lilly plans to seek FDA approval for the additional use by year-end, which could broaden the pill’s commercial opportunity beyond weight loss. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $1,700 and maintained a Buy rating, signaling continued analyst confidence in Lilly’s prospects. Jefferies price target
• Positive Sentiment: Lilly’s agreement with Hims & Hers and a similar arrangement with LifeMD expands digital access to its branded obesity medicines, including Zepbound and Foundayo. Hims’ share-price decline following its own disappointing results appears company-specific; coverage reported Lilly holding steady. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: The FDA is requiring GLP-1 drugmakers to add warnings about a possible increased risk of NAION, a rare eye condition that can cause sudden, potentially permanent vision loss. The class-wide warning could raise safety concerns for patients and investors, though the condition is rare. CNBC article

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $1,432.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,225.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,104.56. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $850.51 and a 1-year high of $1,453.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $1.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 46.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.40.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $7.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.71 by $1.77. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 86.76% and a net margin of 31.90%. The business had revenue of $24.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.02 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 35.70 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $1.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 22.46%.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets medicines for people and animals. Its work spans areas including diabetes and obesity, cancer, immunology, neuroscience and pain management. The company’s medicines include treatments for diabetes and obesity, such as Mounjaro and Zepbound, as well as products for cancer and other conditions. Lilly also conducts research into new medicines and invests in the development of treatments across its therapeutic areas.