Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Up 2.2% - Still a Buy?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 2.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $772.62 and last traded at $766.94. 866,794 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 3,979,967 shares. The stock had previously closed at $750.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on LLY. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $892.00 to $888.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,011.37.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company's fifty day moving average is $772.75 and its 200 day moving average is $799.41. The company has a market cap of $725.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $3.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.64 by ($1.30). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. The business had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company's revenue for the quarter was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Eli Lilly and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.82%.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total transaction of $818,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,778,521.60. The trade was a 14.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LLY. FWG Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. FWG Holdings LLC now owns 2,023 shares of the company's stock worth $1,640,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Morling Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Morling Financial Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 606 shares of the company's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 855 shares of the company's stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 532 shares of the company's stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company's stock.

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.