Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 7,493 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company $LLY

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group cut its Eli Lilly stake by 11.0% in Q4, selling 7,493 shares and leaving it with 60,336 shares valued at about $64.8 million.
• Despite that sale, Eli Lilly remains heavily owned by institutions, with 82.53% of shares held by institutional investors; several large funds, including Vanguard and State Street, also added to their positions recently.
• The stock continues to draw bullish analyst sentiment, with Goldman Sachs and Jefferies raising price targets and Eli Lilly posting strong quarterly results that beat expectations on both earnings and revenue.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,336 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,493 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $64,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,965,974 shares of the company's stock worth $88,087,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,885 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,726,558 shares of the company's stock worth $26,496,364,000 after purchasing an additional 219,590 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 20.9% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 25,088,371 shares of the company's stock worth $19,141,787,000 after purchasing an additional 4,332,008 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,563,780 shares of the company's stock worth $11,112,164,000 after purchasing an additional 574,229 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 6.1% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,001,509 shares of the company's stock worth $7,628,447,000 after purchasing an additional 579,381 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Eli Lilly and Company

Here are the key news stories impacting Eli Lilly and Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reaffirmed its Buy rating on LLY and raised its price target to $1,283, signaling confidence in further upside. MarketScreener Latest Ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies lifted its price target on Eli Lilly to $1,330, also implying meaningful upside from recent trading levels. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: New clinical updates across Lilly’s pipeline, including positive obesity conference data, Alzheimer’s study progress, and a new heart-failure trial, help reinforce the market’s view that Lilly has multiple growth drivers beyond its current diabetes and obesity drugs.
• Neutral Sentiment: Lilly also announced an acquisition of Engage Biologics, extending its gene-therapy ambitions; this supports long-term diversification, but the near-term stock impact is less direct. Eli Lilly’s Engage Biologics Deal Extends Genetic Bets Beyond Obesity Boom

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $1,066.59 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $623.78 and a 52-week high of $1,133.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $942.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,003.77.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.97 by $1.58. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 105.77% and a net margin of 34.98%.The business had revenue of $19.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.34 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 35.500-37.000 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 35.82 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, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Eli Lilly and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,296.00 to $1,058.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,350.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,294.00 to $1,133.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, CICC Research increased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,107.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,220.37.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company NYSE: LLY is a global pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and therapies for patients worldwide. Eli Lilly maintains operations and commercial presence across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions, serving both developed and emerging markets. The company has been led in recent years by President and Chief Executive Officer David A.

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