Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Down 0.6% - Time to Sell?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) shares traded down 0.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $740.85 and last traded at $751.22. 1,296,108 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 3,532,019 shares. The stock had previously closed at $755.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,100.00 to $1,050.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,011.37.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $801.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $808.28. 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 has a market cap of $683.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $3.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. The company's revenue was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Eli Lilly and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the 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 owns 5,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,778,521.60. This represents a 14.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 97.5% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 101,305,650 shares of the company's stock worth $83,669,349,000 after purchasing an additional 50,002,551 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 6.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,224,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,432,218,000 after acquiring an additional 4,975,395 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,382,846 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,389,651,000 after acquiring an additional 291,875 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 103,831.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,866,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,278,292,000 after acquiring an additional 14,852,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,707,512 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,495,261,000 after acquiring an additional 81,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.