Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,098 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $17,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FWG Holdings LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. FWG Holdings LLC now owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,640,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Morling Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Morling Financial Advisors LLC now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 606 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 855 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $807.97 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a market cap of $765.74 billion, a PE ratio of 69.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $771.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $800.91. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $677.09 and a 52 week high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $3.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.64 by ($1.30). The company had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.77 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.58 earnings per share. 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 business 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LLY. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of 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 research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Hsbc Global Res cut Eli Lilly and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,011.37.

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.