William Blair Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company $LLY

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 108.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,016 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,641 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $34,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,392,000 after acquiring an additional 5,591 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 27,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,789,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 42,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,365,000 after buying an additional 8,659 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 31,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,471,000 after buying an additional 7,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 165,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,022,000 after buying an additional 5,595 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LLY. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,200.00 to $1,280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,283.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $950.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,220.37.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:LLY opened at $1,066.59 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.48. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $623.78 and a one year high of $1,133.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $942.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,004.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.97 by $1.58. The firm had revenue of $19.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.82 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 105.77% and a net margin of 34.98%.Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.34 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 35.500-37.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 35.82 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $1.73 dividend. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 24.58%.

Key Headlines Impacting Eli Lilly and Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Lilly’s retatrutide reported strong Phase 3 results, boosting confidence in its obesity pipeline and long-term growth prospects. Eli Lilly (LLY) Announces Positive Phase 3 Results for Obesity Treatment Retatrutide
• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Eli Lilly has now captured roughly 60% of the U.S. weight-loss drug market, underscoring commercial momentum versus Novo Nordisk. Eli Lilly Just Made a Game-Changing Move in the Billion-Dollar Weight Loss Drug Space. Here’s What You Need to Know.
• Positive Sentiment: Gamco’s Mario Gabelli and ARK’s Cathie Wood both reportedly boosted their LLY holdings, which can be viewed as a vote of confidence from notable investors. Gamco Investors’ Mario Gabelli Boosts Eli Lilly Stake ARK Investment’s Cathie Wood boosts Eli Lilly stake by 12,676 shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Several other funds reported small stake changes in LLY, but these appear to be routine portfolio adjustments rather than a major fundamental signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Lilly also remains in the spotlight for legal overhangs, including a lawsuit tied to alleged drug reimbursement fraud and another dispute involving church leaders, which could create headline risk. Lilly accuses church-linked pharmacies, wholesalers and more of running $200M+ rebate fraud scheme

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.