Welch & Forbes LLC Purchases 3,340 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,093 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,340 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for approximately 1.2% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $77,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JB Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 12.8% in the third quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 134.6% in the third quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 2,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 27.1% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,903,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at about $384,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 5.0% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 339,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,417,000 after acquiring an additional 16,045 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LLY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $650.00 to $723.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $675.00 to $895.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $805.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $850.00 to $892.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $757.95.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 4.3 %

LLY stock traded up $31.77 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $766.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,396,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,090,840. The company has a market cap of $728.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $760.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $673.52. 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 12 month low of $419.80 and a 12 month high of $800.78.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.94 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 56.98% and a net margin of 17.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.82 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 76.58%.

Eli Lilly and Company 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.