Eli Lilly and Company $LLY Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,637 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,472 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for approximately 1.0% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $34,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 78,621.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 11,537,661 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $8,827,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 80,407,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,680,004,000 after buying an additional 1,183,038 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 106.8% in the second 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. increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 13.4% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,766,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,715,913,000 after acquiring an additional 564,736 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LLY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $1,200.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,286.00 to $1,268.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of 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. Finally, National Bankshares set a $1,286.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Monday, December 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,155.36.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $1,079.84 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $623.78 and a 52 week high of $1,111.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $997.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $845.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 52.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.37.

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. The business had revenue of $17.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 30.99% and a return on equity of 109.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 23.000-23.700 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 29.35%.

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.