Sterling Financial Group Inc. Acquires 33 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Sterling Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 412 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 33 shares during the quarter. Sterling Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LLY. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.3% during the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,425,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Defined Financial Planning LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 6.6% in the first quarter. Defined Financial Planning LLC now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. FMB Wealth Management purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the first quarter valued at $208,000. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 465 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Warner Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 129.2% during the first quarter. Warner Financial Inc. now owns 1,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $927,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:LLY opened at $807.97 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $771.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $800.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $765.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.00, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $677.09 and a 1-year high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $3.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.64 by ($1.30). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 48.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LLY. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $892.00 to $888.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,100.00 to $1,050.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,011.37.

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.