Welch & Forbes LLC Acquires 1,555 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Welch & Forbes LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 148,535 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,555 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company makes up 1.6% of Welch & Forbes LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC's holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $122,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LLY. Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC now owns 813 shares of the company's stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,340 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,933,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Prism Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. CSM Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the company's stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 2,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,444,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company's stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock traded down $26.77 during trading on Thursday, hitting $763.04. The stock had a trading volume of 3,119,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,681,261. The stock has a market cap of $723.16 billion, a PE ratio of 62.08, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.40. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $677.09 and a 12 month high of $972.53. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $766.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $799.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.64 by ($1.30). The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.77 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.51% and a net margin of 22.67%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Eli Lilly and Company's payout ratio is currently 48.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of 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. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. HSBC lowered Eli Lilly and Company from a "buy" rating to a "reduce" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $1,150.00 to $700.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Eli Lilly and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $892.00 to $888.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,012.56.

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.