American Trust Lowers Stock Holdings in Eli Lilly and Company $LLY

American Trust reduced its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 9.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,752 shares of the company’s stock after selling 575 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $5,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Basso Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Miller Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 342.9% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 31 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Eli Lilly to $1,334 from $1,251 and kept a buy rating, signaling confidence that the company still has meaningful upside after its recent run. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: Lilly announced that its Phase 2 neuropathic pain trial reached completion, adding another potentially valuable pipeline asset beyond its blockbuster GLP-1 franchise. TipRanks article
• Positive Sentiment: News flow highlighting record GLP-1 adoption and accelerating sales remains supportive, since Lilly’s obesity and diabetes drugs continue to be the main driver of earnings momentum. Motley Fool article
• Positive Sentiment: Additional analyst commentary has been upbeat, with other firms also lifting targets and framing Lilly as one of the strongest growth names in healthcare. TheStreet article
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional buying and “best mutual funds” lists suggest Lilly remains a favored large-cap healthcare holding, but this is more a sentiment indicator than a direct catalyst. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: Tampa General’s lawsuit over allegedly pulled 340B discounts adds legal and reimbursement risk, which could create some investor caution around Lilly’s pricing and hospital-channel relationships. Healthcare Finance News article

Analyst Ratings Changes

LLY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,350.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,344.00 to $1,347.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,119.00 to $1,232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $1,070.00 to $850.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,263.41.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LLY traded down $27.89 on Friday, hitting $1,189.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,008,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,892,553. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,098.66 and a 200-day moving average of $1,033.53. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.51. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $623.78 and a 12-month high of $1,249.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.97 by $1.58. The company had revenue of $19.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.82 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 34.98% and a return on equity of 105.77%. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.34 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 35.500-37.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 35.81 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 24.58%.

Eli Lilly and Company Profile

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.