Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Takes $5.59 Million Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 9,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,588,000. Eli Lilly and Company makes up 3.4% of Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LLY. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter worth $3,416,206,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew 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 worth $42,802,530,000 after acquiring an additional 7,330,815 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 102,752.2% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,446,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,992,374,000 after acquiring an additional 5,440,731 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,059,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,411,740,000 after acquiring an additional 3,691,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 53,716.8% in the second quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,751,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747,946 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LLY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $650.00 to $723.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Erste Group Bank raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $815.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $850.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $710.00 to $865.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Three research 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $728.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 78,573 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $648.07, for a total transaction of $50,920,804.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 99,333,810 shares in the company, valued at $64,375,262,246.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

LLY traded down $19.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $726.31. The company had a trading volume of 3,486,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,073,465. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $369.76 and a 1 year high of $800.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $763.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $659.59. The company has a market cap of $690.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 125.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.34.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.19. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 51.22% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $9.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 28.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.