Polen Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Key Points

• Polen Capital Management LLC has boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 35.4% in the first quarter, now owning approximately $1.45 billion worth of shares, making it the firm's 8th largest position.
• In the most recent earnings report, Eli Lilly reported an EPS of $6.31, surpassing analysts' estimates of $5.59, and achieved a 37.6% year-over-year revenue increase with total revenue of $15.56 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share to be paid on September 10th, with a dividend yield of 1.0% and a payout ratio of 48.82%.

Polen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 35.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,754,571 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 459,182 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for about 4.6% of Polen Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Polen Capital Management LLC owned 0.19% of Eli Lilly and Company worth $1,449,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LLY. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 97.5% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 101,305,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,669,349,000 after buying an additional 50,002,551 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 14,852,076 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 6.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,224,392 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,432,218,000 after buying an additional 4,975,395 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,730,758 shares of the company's stock worth $6,740,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,645,222 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,757,511 shares of the company's stock worth $8,304,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,493,673 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LLY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $936.00 to $942.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Hsbc Global Res cut Eli Lilly and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $895.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Eli Lilly and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Leerink Partners reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $715.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $990.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, Director Jamere Jackson purchased 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $639.56 per share, for a total transaction of $127,912.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,013,143.12. The trade was a 2.17% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of LLY stock traded down $15.71 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $625.15. The company had a trading volume of 14,089,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,833,475. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $623.78 and a 12 month high of $972.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $774.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $799.11. The company has a market cap of $592.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.44.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $6.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.59 by $0.72. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 98.25% and a net margin of 25.91%. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 37.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Eli Lilly and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.