Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,839 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,745,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,592,709,000 after buying an additional 1,133,810 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 26,949,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,709,466,000 after acquiring an additional 89,720 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at $5,992,890,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 6.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,031,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,248,210,000 after acquiring an additional 453,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 61,268.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,342,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,802,530,000 after acquiring an additional 7,330,815 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 210,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $939.82, for a total value of $197,362,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,943,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,109,731,514.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Eli Lilly and Company news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 210,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $939.82, for a total value of $197,362,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,943,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,109,731,514.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Johna Norton sold 7,056 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.38, for a total value of $5,781,545.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,835,194.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,214,704 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,841,316 over the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LLY traded down $16.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $804.62. 4,173,942 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,119,787. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $446.89 and a 1 year high of $966.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $870.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $781.86. The stock has a market cap of $764.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.50, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.05. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 56.98% and a net margin of 17.08%. The firm had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LLY. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,001.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $994.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target (up from $892.00) on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $858.72.

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.