Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Sold by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 12.3%, now holding 6,606 shares valued at approximately $5.46 million.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Eli Lilly, with recent upgrades and downgrades; notably, Morgan Stanley maintains an "overweight" rating with a price target of $1,135.00, while HSBC has downgraded it to "reduce" with a target of $700.00.
• Eli Lilly's stock performance showed a decline, trading at $759.76, and the company reported earnings of $3.34 per share, which missed analyst expectations of $4.64.

Howard Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 12.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,606 shares of the company's stock after selling 924 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $5,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LLY. Garner Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 532 shares of the company's stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 855 shares of the company's stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 307 shares of the company's stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Redwood Investments LLC now owns 2,209 shares of the company's stock worth $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.8% in the first quarter. Hobbs Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,459 shares of the company's stock worth $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $1,135.00 price target (up previously from $1,133.00) on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Eli Lilly and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Eli Lilly and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $892.00 to $888.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, HSBC lowered Eli Lilly and Company from a "buy" rating to a "reduce" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $1,150.00 to $700.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,012.56.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

LLY stock traded down $3.19 on Wednesday, reaching $759.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,331,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,949,040. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $677.09 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The company has a market capitalization of $720.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $774.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $800.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $3.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.64 by ($1.30). The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.77 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.51% and a net margin of 22.67%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Eli Lilly and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.82%.

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.