Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Up 2.7% After Insider Buying Activity

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s stock price shot up 2.7% on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $657.50 and last traded at $657.00. 2,333,299 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 4,080,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $639.43.

Specifically, Director J Erik Fyrwald bought 1,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $642.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,005,246.45. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 74,578 shares in the company, valued at $47,903,686.74. This trade represents a 2.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gabrielle Sulzberger bought 117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $641.18 per share, with a total value of $75,018.06. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,733,109.54. The trade was a 4.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In related news, EVP Daniel Skovronsky bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $634.40 per share, for a total transaction of $634,400.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 137,660 shares in the company, valued at $87,331,504. This trade represents a 0.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LLY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,010.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. HSBC cut shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy” rating to a “reduce” rating and cut their target price for the company from $1,150.00 to $700.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $895.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $964.88.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 3.3%

The firm has a market cap of $625.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.16, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.44. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $767.52 and its 200-day moving average is $796.25.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $6.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.59 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 25.91% and a return on equity of 92.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.92 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. WestEnd Advisors LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 210.0% in the 1st quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 31 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 263.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 40 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

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.