Strategy Asset Managers LLC Acquires New Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 9,451 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $648,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,732,575 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,404,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,147 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.4% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 84,497,404 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,189,435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,281 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 61,246,366 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,486,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589,240 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,630,134 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,509,227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,301,624,000. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $137,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,614,559.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $406,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,506,146.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $137,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 96,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,614,559.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ GILD traded down $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $79.62. The stock had a trading volume of 642,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,145,530. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 221.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.18. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.41. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $87.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $6.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 29.34%. Sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 855.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GILD shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.06.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines in the areas of unmet medical need in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy, Odefsey, Truvada, Complera/ Eviplera, Stribild, Sunlencs, and Atripla products for the treatment of HIV/AIDS; Veklury, an injection for intravenous use, for the treatment of COVID-19; and Epclusa, Harvoni, Vemlidy, and Viread for the treatment of viral hepatitis.