Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Purchased by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 378,102 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 10,771 shares during the quarter. Gilead Sciences accounts for 3.2% of Verity & Verity LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $34,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bellevue Group AG raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 18.2% in the third quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 46,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,859,000 after acquiring an additional 7,093 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 149.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 81,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 48,910 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,414,268 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $851,743,000 after purchasing an additional 93,068 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth $830,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 12.9% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 323,011 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,081,000 after purchasing an additional 36,895 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total transaction of $2,341,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,113,308.50. This trade represents a 20.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total value of $620,355.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,920 shares in the company, valued at $815,198.80. This trade represents a 43.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 456,234 shares of company stock worth $42,130,461. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $91.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $114.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,020.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $91.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.81. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $98.90.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The firm had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3,422.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on GILD shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Leerink Partners raised Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $74.00 to $96.00 in a report on Monday, October 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Maxim Group cut shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.96.

Gilead Sciences 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.