Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Increases Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 19.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,582 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,411 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $7,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WestEnd Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 210.0% in the 1st quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 31 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 180.0% in the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 42 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LLY. 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 research note on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered Eli Lilly and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Eli Lilly and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,012.56.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 1.3%

LLY traded up $10.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $771.78. 3,351,657 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,680,785. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $766.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $799.83. The firm has a market cap of $731.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.40. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $677.09 and a 1 year high of $972.53. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $3.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.64 by ($1.30). The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.77 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.51% and a net margin of 22.67%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

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

Eli Lilly and Company Profile

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.