National Pension Service Grows Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company $LLY

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Eli Lilly position by 1.3% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 1.68 million shares valued at approximately $2.02 billion. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 82.53% of the company.
• Eli Lilly reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $8.38 beating estimates of $6.40 and revenue rising 47.7% year over year to $22.97 billion. The company maintained fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $35.50–$36.50.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $1,295.39 price target, though Lilly’s premium valuation, increasing competition in obesity drugs and insider selling remain key risks.

National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,682,782 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,556 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for approximately 1.3% of National Pension Service's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.18% of Eli Lilly and Company worth $2,018,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 120,133.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,460,379,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,751,622,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459,164,568 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 67,540,400 shares of the company's stock worth $81,009,981,000 after buying an additional 1,046,558 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,361,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,002,744,000 after buying an additional 635,358 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,593,019 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,757,510,000 after buying an additional 407,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,031,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,154,619,000 after acquiring an additional 61,851 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eli Lilly and Company News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Competitive position in obesity drugs: Morgan Stanley downgraded Novo Nordisk to Sell, citing expectations that Lilly will continue taking market share before semaglutide patent expiration becomes the primary issue. This reinforces the outlook for Lilly’s obesity and diabetes portfolio. Morgan Stanley Downgrades Novo Nordisk to Sell on Lilly Competition
• Positive Sentiment: Higher earnings expectations: Erste Group raised its fiscal 2027 EPS forecast for LLY to $47.18 from $45.14, signaling confidence in continued earnings growth. Eli Lilly analyst earnings estimate update
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline diversification: Lilly completed its acquisition of AtaiBeckley, adding BPL-003, an investigational rapid-acting therapy for treatment-resistant depression and other mental-health conditions. The deal broadens Lilly’s pipeline beyond metabolic medicines. Lilly completes acquisition of AtaiBeckley
• Positive Sentiment: New growth opportunities: Lilly is using GLP-1-generated cash flow to expand into women’s health, including treatments for endometriosis and pregnancy-related disorders, while its immunology business and acquisitions create additional potential growth engines. Lilly expands women’s health initiatives
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and momentum are in focus: Recent coverage highlights Lilly’s trillion-dollar market capitalization, roughly 50% GLP-1 revenue growth and a recent pullback. These support the long-term story but leave investors questioning how much future growth is already reflected in the stock price. Eli Lilly valuation and growth outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and spending risks: The AtaiBeckley purchase requires Lilly to fund a clinical-stage program with uncertain outcomes, while investors remain sensitive to the company’s premium valuation and its ability to sustain rapid growth as competition increases.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LLY shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,350.00 to $1,410.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,251.00 to $1,334.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group set a $1,376.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,295.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,185.01, for a total transaction of $2,370,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,808,325.26. This trade represents a 56.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Anat Hakim sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,190.00, for a total transaction of $5,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,131,250. This trade represents a 29.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 13,500 shares of company stock valued at $15,958,170 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $1,115.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's 50-day moving average is $1,183.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,073.19. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $712.05 and a 12 month high of $1,292.65.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $8.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.40 by $1.98. The business had revenue of $22.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.82 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 33.53% and a return on equity of 97.83%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.31 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 35.500-36.500 EPS. Analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 36.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Eli Lilly and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.22%.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets medicines for a range of medical conditions. Its portfolio includes treatments for diabetes and obesity, oncology, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular disease and other areas of significant unmet medical need.

The company's products include Mounjaro and Trulicity for diabetes, Zepbound for chronic weight management, and insulin products such as Humalog. Lilly also markets Verzenio for certain breast cancers and Kisunla for the treatment of early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease.

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