Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Up 1.3% - Time to Buy?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 1.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $723.82 and last traded at $723.24. Approximately 1,073,851 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 3,612,785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $713.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on LLY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $892.00 to $888.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,011.37.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $688.65 billion, a PE ratio of 61.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $782.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $801.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $3.34 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Eli Lilly and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total value of $818,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,778,521.60. This represents a 14.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. WestEnd Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 210.0% during the 1st quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 31 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Citizens National Bank Trust Department grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 180.0% during the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 42 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

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.