Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $1,033.62 and last traded at $1,004.4780, with a volume of 3859587 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,022.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $948.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Leerink Partners upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $886.00 to $1,104.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Daiwa America cut Eli Lilly and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $925.00 to $985.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,015.11.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $826.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $779.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $962.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.43.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $7.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.42 by $0.60. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 25.91% and a return on equity of 92.72%. The firm had revenue of $17.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 23.000-23.700 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 29.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,409,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,136,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 24.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 426 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Finally, Opes Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 6.6% in the first quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

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.