Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 2,023 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company $LLY

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 6.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,453 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $26,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 78,621.2% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,552,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,005,392,000 after buying an additional 11,537,661 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,827,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 80,407,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,680,004,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,038 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 106.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,481,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,154,508,000 after acquiring an additional 765,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 13.4% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,766,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,715,913,000 after purchasing an additional 564,736 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $1,075.00 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,008.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $848.52. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $623.78 and a 12 month high of $1,111.99. The company has a market cap of $1.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.59, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $7.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.60. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 109.52% and a net margin of 30.99%.The firm had revenue of $17.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 53.9% on a year-over-year basis. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 23.000-23.700 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.73 per share. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 33.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on LLY. Daiwa Capital Markets set a $1,230.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,038.00 to $1,182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,100.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,155.36.

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.