Sovran Advisors LLC Increases Position in Eli Lilly and Company $LLY

Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 44.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,731 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 844 shares during the quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,965,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,087,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,885 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,361,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,002,744,000 after acquiring an additional 635,358 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,593,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,757,510,000 after acquiring an additional 407,166 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,031,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,154,619,000 after acquiring an additional 61,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,910,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,024,022,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432,069 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on LLY. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,230.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,330.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,263.41.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 2.3%

LLY stock traded down $27.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,189.06. 2,008,208 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,892,553. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $623.78 and a fifty-two week high of $1,249.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,098.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,033.53. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 42.24, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.51.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.97 by $1.58. The business had revenue of $19.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.82 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 34.98% and a return on equity of 105.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.34 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 35.500-37.000 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 35.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.73 per share. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 24.58%.

Trending Headlines about Eli Lilly and Company

Here are the key news stories impacting Eli Lilly and Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Eli Lilly to $1,334 from $1,251 and kept a buy rating, signaling confidence that the company still has meaningful upside after its recent run. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: Lilly announced that its Phase 2 neuropathic pain trial reached completion, adding another potentially valuable pipeline asset beyond its blockbuster GLP-1 franchise. TipRanks article
• Positive Sentiment: News flow highlighting record GLP-1 adoption and accelerating sales remains supportive, since Lilly’s obesity and diabetes drugs continue to be the main driver of earnings momentum. Motley Fool article
• Positive Sentiment: Additional analyst commentary has been upbeat, with other firms also lifting targets and framing Lilly as one of the strongest growth names in healthcare. TheStreet article
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional buying and “best mutual funds” lists suggest Lilly remains a favored large-cap healthcare holding, but this is more a sentiment indicator than a direct catalyst. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: Tampa General’s lawsuit over allegedly pulled 340B discounts adds legal and reimbursement risk, which could create some investor caution around Lilly’s pricing and hospital-channel relationships. Healthcare Finance News article

About Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is a global pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and therapies for patients worldwide. Eli Lilly maintains operations and commercial presence across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions, serving both developed and emerging markets. The company has been led in recent years by President and Chief Executive Officer David A.