Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Sells 1,015 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lowered its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,885 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,015 shares during the quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 163.4% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 5,211 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 66,993 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,617,000 after buying an additional 4,638 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $479,000. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 658.5% in the 3rd quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 43,606 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,656,000 after acquiring an additional 37,857 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,187,446 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $183,396,000 after acquiring an additional 28,090 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GILD. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Maxim Group downgraded Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.86.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD traded down $0.40 on Monday, hitting $88.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,441,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,077,055. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $86.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $109.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 982.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.17. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $98.90.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 3,422.22%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total value of $2,341,485.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 99,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,113,308.50. This trade represents a 20.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $2,459,529.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. This represents a 27.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,947 shares of company stock valued at $4,968,674. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Gilead Sciences

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.