Meritage Portfolio Management Acquires 1,208 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Meritage Portfolio Management grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 23.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,377 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 168.5% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,785,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759 shares during the last quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.2% in the third quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 4,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,328,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.8% during the third quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth $223,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 10,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,551,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LLY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $700.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $680.00 to $810.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $815.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $728.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 54,032 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $645.07, for a total transaction of $34,854,422.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,488,598 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,177,109,911.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock traded down $7.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $724.87. 2,597,828 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,033,906. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $763.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $664.52. The firm has a market cap of $688.74 billion, a PE ratio of 124.61, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $370.68 and a 12 month high of $800.78.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $9.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue was up 28.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.