Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Cuts Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,824 shares of the company's stock after selling 424 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for 3.0% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LLY. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 14,852,076 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth $8,407,908,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 100,387.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,202,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,016,110,000 after buying an additional 5,197,038 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $9,747,214,000 after buying an additional 2,012,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,645,222 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of LLY stock traded up $6.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $818.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,753,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,658,306. The firm has a market capitalization of $775.78 billion, a PE ratio of 69.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $775.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $801.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $677.09 and a 52-week high of $972.53.

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

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Eli Lilly and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on LLY shares. HSBC cut Eli Lilly and Company from a "buy" rating to a "reduce" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $1,150.00 to $700.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $892.00 to $888.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Eli Lilly and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,011.37.

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.