Eli Lilly and Company $LLY Position Reduced by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lowered its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 4.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 32,222 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,598 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up 1.8% of UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $37,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LLY. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the second quarter worth $13,522,666,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter valued at about $4,667,180,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter valued at about $764,116,000. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 67,540,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,009,981,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,215,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,438,262,000 after acquiring an additional 605,752 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LLY shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,610.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,500.00 to $1,650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,650.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,430.00 to $1,596.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,416.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,500 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,175.10, for a total value of $7,638,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 54,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,628,139.70. The trade was a 10.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Anat Hakim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,402.52, for a total transaction of $7,012,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,137 shares in the company, valued at $5,802,225.24. This represents a 54.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of LLY stock opened at $1,437.46 on Thursday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $850.51 and a 52-week high of $1,453.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.66, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1,231.13 and its 200-day moving average is $1,106.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $7.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.71 by $1.77. The firm had revenue of $24.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.58 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 86.76% and a net margin of 31.90%. The business’s revenue was up 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 35.67 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.46%.

Top Eli Lilly and Company Stories

Investors following LLY have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: Lilly reported positive 52-week Phase 3b results for Taltz plus Zepbound in adults with psoriatic arthritis and obesity. Nearly three times as many combination-treatment patients achieved at least a 50% reduction in disease activity versus Taltz alone, potentially broadening Zepbound’s use and commercial opportunity. Article: Phase 3b Taltz and Zepbound results
• Positive Sentiment: Foundayo, Lilly’s GLP-1 weight-loss pill, was reported to have shown substantial improvement in sleep apnea, adding to the potential uses of the company’s obesity pipeline. Article: Foundayo and sleep apnea
• Negative Sentiment: Possible new U.S. drug-price negotiations could put pressure on Lilly revenue, according to a report identifying the company as facing nearer-term pricing exposure. Article: Drug-pricing risks

About Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets medicines for people and animals. Its work spans areas including diabetes and obesity, cancer, immunology, neuroscience and pain management. The company’s medicines include treatments for diabetes and obesity, such as Mounjaro and Zepbound, as well as products for cancer and other conditions. Lilly also conducts research into new medicines and invests in the development of treatments across its therapeutic areas.