Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. Acquires 138 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 35.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 531 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whelan Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the first quarter worth approximately $297,000. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the first quarter worth approximately $1,447,000. New Century Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 64.7% during the first quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 1,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,545,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 70.6% during the first quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 2,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,994,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% during the first quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,780,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 92,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $809.21, for a total value of $74,902,905.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 98,556,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,752,700,634.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Johna Norton sold 7,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.38, for a total value of $5,781,545.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,835,194.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 92,563 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $809.21, for a total transaction of $74,902,905.23. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 98,556,247 shares in the company, valued at $79,752,700,634.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 858,742 shares of company stock worth $735,573,781. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $885.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $770.00 to $840.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $812.72.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LLY traded down $8.61 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $898.10. The stock had a trading volume of 3,078,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,667,176. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $824.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $746.69. The company has a market capitalization of $853.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 132.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $434.34 and a fifty-two week high of $918.50.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.94 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 17.08% and a return on equity of 56.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.58%.

About Eli Lilly and Company

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.