ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Has $3.60 Million Stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,171 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JGP Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 623 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on LLY shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $710.00 to $865.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $675.00 to $895.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $815.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $728.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 54,032 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $645.07, for a total transaction of $34,854,422.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,488,598 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,177,109,911.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of LLY traded down $19.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $726.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,486,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,073,465. The stock has a market capitalization of $690.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 125.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.34. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $369.76 and a one year high of $800.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $763.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $659.59.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $9.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.95 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 51.22% and a net margin of 15.36%. Eli Lilly and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.