Eli Lilly and Company $LLY Stock: UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Reduces Stake

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lessened its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,222 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,598 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company comprises about 1.8% of UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $37,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. Granville Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.8% in the third quarter. Granville Capital Inc. now owns 960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 14,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,665,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Walter Public Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth $9,141,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 549.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 53,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,017,000 after purchasing an additional 45,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Eli Lilly and Company

These are some of the LLY headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Lilly reported positive 52-week Phase 3b results for Taltz plus Zepbound in adults with psoriatic arthritis and obesity. Nearly three times as many combination-treatment patients achieved at least a 50% reduction in disease activity versus Taltz alone, potentially broadening Zepbound’s use and commercial opportunity. Article: Phase 3b Taltz and Zepbound results
• Positive Sentiment: Foundayo, Lilly’s GLP-1 weight-loss pill, was reported to have shown substantial improvement in sleep apnea, adding to the potential uses of the company’s obesity pipeline. Article: Foundayo and sleep apnea
• Negative Sentiment: Possible new U.S. drug-price negotiations could put pressure on Lilly revenue, according to a report identifying the company as facing nearer-term pricing exposure. Article: Drug-pricing risks

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,175.10, for a total transaction of $7,638,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 54,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,628,139.70. This represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Anat Hakim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,402.52, for a total transaction of $7,012,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,802,225.24. The trade was a 54.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LLY shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,650.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,500.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,400.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,330.00 to $1,500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,416.64.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $1,437.46 on Thursday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $850.51 and a 1 year high of $1,453.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,231.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,106.42. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 46.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $7.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.71 by $1.77. The company had revenue of $24.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.58 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 86.76% and a net margin of 31.90%. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue was up 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 35.67 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a $1.73 dividend. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 22.46%.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets medicines for people and animals. Its work spans areas including diabetes and obesity, cancer, immunology, neuroscience and pain management. The company’s medicines include treatments for diabetes and obesity, such as Mounjaro and Zepbound, as well as products for cancer and other conditions. Lilly also conducts research into new medicines and invests in the development of treatments across its therapeutic areas.