Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 1,417 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company $LLY

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 19.0% during the 1st quarter, now holding 6,037 shares valued at approximately $4.99 million.
• Eli Lilly reported $6.31 EPS for the most recent quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $5.59.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $1.50 will be paid on September 10th, representing an annualized yield of 0.8%.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 19.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,037 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,417 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $4,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WestEnd Advisors LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 210.0% in 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 acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 180.0% in the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 42 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LLY. HSBC raised Eli Lilly and Company from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $675.00 to $700.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $975.00 to $825.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Leerink Partners restated a "market perform" rating and set a $715.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $895.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $950.17.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CEO David A. Ricks purchased 1,632 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $644.77 per share, for a total transaction of $1,052,264.64. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 546,601 shares of the company's stock, valued at $352,431,926.77. This trade represents a 0.30% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director J Erik Fyrwald bought 1,565 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $642.33 per share, with a total value of $1,005,246.45. Following the transaction, the director owned 74,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,903,686.74. This trade represents a 2.14% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 4,514 shares of company stock valued at $2,894,841. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LLY traded up $11.35 on Tuesday, hitting $749.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,983,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,436,129. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $623.78 and a 1-year high of $942.35. The stock has a market cap of $709.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $742.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $779.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $6.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.59 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 25.91% and a return on equity of 92.72%. Eli Lilly and Company's revenue was up 37.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.92 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 21.750-23.000 EPS. Analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Eli Lilly and Company's payout ratio is currently 39.22%.

Eli Lilly and 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.