Alta Advisers Ltd Purchases 1,500 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Alta Advisers Ltd increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 57.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,119 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up approximately 1.4% of Alta Advisers Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Alta Advisers Ltd's holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 103,831.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,866,380 shares of the company's stock worth $12,278,292,000 after purchasing an additional 14,852,076 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,407,908,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,625,925 shares of the company's stock worth $9,747,214,000 after purchasing an additional 2,012,129 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,730,758 shares of the company's stock worth $6,740,272,000 after buying an additional 1,645,222 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,240,653,000. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company's stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock traded up $3.06 on Wednesday, reaching $778.96. The stock had a trading volume of 1,977,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,674,984. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $677.09 and a 12 month high of $972.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $738.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's 50-day moving average is $778.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $799.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $3.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.64 by ($1.30). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 85.51%. The business had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Eli Lilly and Company's payout ratio is 48.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "buy" rating to a "reduce" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $1,150.00 to $700.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Eli Lilly and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $892.00 to $888.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $936.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,011.61.

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.