Who Owns Eli Lilly? Top Shareholders and Recent Insider Buying

Nikko Henson
Nikko Henson6 minute read
Reviewed by: Thomas Richmond
Last updated Aug 28, 2025
Who Owns Eli Lilly? Top Shareholders and Recent Insider Buying

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Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is a global pharmaceutical giant that develops medicines in diabetes, oncology, immunology, and neuroscience. Shares trade around $723, valuing the company at about $624 billion.

Best known today for its blockbuster obesity and diabetes treatments, Lilly has become one of the most valuable names in healthcare. Surging demand for GLP-1 therapies, expanding margins, and strong returns on equity have made it a core holding for institutions looking for long-term growth in the sector. The company’s research pipeline, worldwide distribution, and brand strength create advantages that are hard for rivals to match.

For investors, this means Lilly looks like a durable compounder, but the recent pullback shows sentiment can shift quickly. The Lilly Endowment still owns just over 10% of the stock, while the rest is spread across the largest asset managers and funds.

Insiders have been buying Eli Lilly, which makes it particularly interesting to take a look at the stock today.

Who Are Lilly’s Top Shareholders?

Eli Lilly stock
Eli Lilly’s largest shareholders

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Eli Lilly develops and markets medicines in areas such as diabetes, obesity, oncology, immunology, and neuroscience. Its shareholder base is led by the Lilly Endowment, which controls more than 10% of the stock, alongside passive giants like Vanguard and BlackRock. This structure provides stability while leaving room for active managers to make sharper moves.

  • Lilly Endowment: 95.7M shares (10.1%), ~$66.6B. Trimmed 280K (-0.3%).
  • Vanguard Group: 80.0M shares (8.5%), ~$55.7B. Added 1.17M (+1.5%).
  • PNC Investments: 51.1M shares (5.4%), ~$35.5B. Slight cut (-0.02%).
  • BlackRock: 41.3M shares (4.4%), ~$28.7B. Cut 168K (-0.4%).
  • State Street: 34.5M shares (3.7%), ~$24.0B. Added 64K (+0.2%).
  • Fidelity: 24.4M shares (2.6%), ~$16.9B. Reduced 2.8M (-10.4%).
  • Capital Research: 20.8M shares (2.2%), ~$14.4B. Added 5.0M (+31.8%).

One highlight from last quarter is Balyasny Asset Management, which lifted its Lilly stake by 229%, now holding about 500K shares worth $391 million. That kind of increase suggests growing conviction in Lilly’s long-term pipeline.

Another notable move came from Point72 Asset Management, led by Steven Cohen, which boosted its position by 244% to 189K shares worth $147 million. This looks like a strong bet on the company after its recent pullback.

Meanwhile, Squarepoint Ops made an aggressive move as well, raising its holdings by over 1,045% to 412K shares valued at $322 million, signaling that some hedge funds see opportunity at current levels.

Passive giants help anchor stability, while hedge funds are taking aggressive swings. The contrast between Fidelity cutting back and funds like Balyasny and Point72 adding heavily shows that sentiment on Lilly is divided, but some investors clearly see the recent dip as a buying chance.

See whether Eli Lilly’s top shareholders are buying or selling today >>>

Lilly’s Recent Insider Trades

Eli Lilly stock
Eli Lilly’s recent insider transactions

Insider activity at Eli Lilly in recent months has leaned more toward buying than selling, a pattern that can be read as a sign of confidence in the company’s long-term outlook. While individual transactions are modest relative to Lilly’s market cap, insider buying generally sends a more positive signal than insider selling, since it reflects leaders and directors choosing to put additional capital into the stock.

Here are some recent insider sales:

  • Directors Ralph Alvarez, Erik Fyrwald, Mary Lynne Hedley, Juan Luciano, Gabrielle Sulzberger, and James Jackson: All purchased small blocks of stock in August, typically 14–200 shares each, at prices in the ~$630–$698 range.
  • Officers Lucas Montarce and Jacob Van Naarden: Bought 715 and 1,000 shares respectively.
  • David Ricks (CEO & Chairman): Added 1,632 shares at ~$645.
  • Daniel Skovronsky (Chief Scientific Officer): Bought 1,000 shares at ~$634.
  • Ilya Yuffa (Officer): Sold 1,250 shares at ~$627.
  • Melissa Seymour (Officer): Reported a 427-share sale in July, alongside a separate small purchase of 952 shares.
  • Lilly Endowment (Major Holder): Reduced ~44,500 shares in July, consistent with its long-term practice of gradual selling.

Taken together, Lilly insiders have been net buyers, with more purchases than sales across both directors and officers. This suggests that leadership is willing to add exposure at current levels, even as the Lilly Endowment continues its routine trimming. Investors may interpret this as a supportive signal for confidence in Lilly’s valuation and growth trajectory.

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What the Ownership & Insider Trade Data Tell Us

Eli Lilly’s ownership structure combines stability from its charitable foundation and passive index giants with more active positioning from major funds. The split between Fidelity reducing its stake and Capital Research adding heavily shows that professional investors are not aligned on where the stock should go next.

On the insider side, most recent activity has been small sales, with no notable buying. This may reflect diversification or profit-taking, but it does not point to strong conviction from leadership at current prices.

The data points to a mixed backdrop. Long-term fundamentals remain strong, but some institutions and insiders appear cautious.

For investors, Lilly still looks like a solid long-term holding, but the ownership trends suggest big players may be waiting for more clarity before adding more.

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