Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 3,905 Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,456,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 103,831.6% in the 1st 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 acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,407,908,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 19.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,012,129 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,730,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,740,272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,645,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,757,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,304,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493,673 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

NYSE:LLY traded down $26.60 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $772.74. 4,171,328 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,677,880. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $677.09 and a 1 year high of $972.53. The company has a market cap of $732.36 billion, a PE ratio of 62.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $765.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $800.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.77 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 85.51%. Eli Lilly and Company's revenue for the quarter was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Eli Lilly and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LLY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 28th. UBS Group dropped their price target on 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. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Erste Group Bank downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,012.56.

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.