Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading 2.4% Higher

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) shares rose 2.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $939.86 and last traded at $937.22. Approximately 1,537,892 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 3,012,382 shares. The stock had previously closed at $915.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $725.00 to $1,025.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI raised Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $1,106.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $913.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price (up previously from $892.00) on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $977.35.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 1.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $895.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $836.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $881.10 billion, a PE ratio of 138.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.42.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $1.28. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 18.86% and a return on equity of 67.52%. The firm had revenue of $11.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 16.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.58%.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 1,441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.02, for a total value of $1,318,543.82. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,367,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,093,089,982.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 442,229 shares of company stock worth $410,002,456 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the first quarter worth $262,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the first quarter worth about $6,916,000. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the first quarter worth approximately $8,896,000. IPG Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $351,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,878,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.