Vest Financial LLC Boosts Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 73.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,570 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,782 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $5,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,248,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,320,226,000 after purchasing an additional 475,530 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,382,846 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,389,651,000 after purchasing an additional 291,875 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 103,831.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,866,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,278,292,000 after purchasing an additional 14,852,076 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,625,925 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,747,214,000 after purchasing an additional 2,012,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $8,407,908,000. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total value of $818,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,778,521.60. This trade represents a 14.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on LLY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $892.00 to $888.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,100.00 to $1,050.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, HSBC cut Eli Lilly and Company from a "buy" rating to a "reduce" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $1,150.00 to $700.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,011.37.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock traded up $4.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $770.00. 2,068,266 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,655,041. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $677.09 and a 12-month high of $972.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $729.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.76, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $770.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $800.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $3.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.64 by ($1.30). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. The company's revenue was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Eli Lilly and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.