Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Acquires 31 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 0.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,930 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company accounts for approximately 1.3% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $38,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LLY. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 32,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,810,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1,819.1% in the fourth quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 11,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,667,000 after purchasing an additional 10,842 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $363,000. Finally, Terril Brothers Inc. raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 113.2% in the fourth quarter. Terril Brothers Inc. now owns 808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LLY. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $900.00 to $1,001.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price (up previously from $892.00) on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $650.00 to $723.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TheStreet raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $770.00 to $840.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $812.72.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 92,563 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $809.21, for a total transaction of $74,902,905.23. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 98,556,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,752,700,634.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Eli Lilly and Company news, EVP Johna Norton sold 7,056 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.38, for a total transaction of $5,781,545.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,835,194.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 92,563 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $809.21, for a total value of $74,902,905.23. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 98,556,247 shares in the company, valued at $79,752,700,634.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 849,894 shares of company stock worth $727,475,118 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $906.71 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $818.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $743.26. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $434.34 and a one year high of $916.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $861.75 billion, a PE ratio of 133.54, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.05. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 56.98% and a net margin of 17.08%. The business had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 76.58%.

Eli Lilly and 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.