Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Purchases 6,980 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 99,536 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,980 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $8,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 111.2% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,838,000 after purchasing an additional 18,444 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 12,778 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 3,785 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 97,307 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,883,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 14,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,142,000 after buying an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at $94,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:GILD traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $65.54. The company had a trading volume of 7,186,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,456,667. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.98. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.33 and a fifty-two week high of $87.86. The firm has a market cap of $81.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 182.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.22. The business’s fifty day moving average is $70.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.68.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.49) by $0.17. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 24.34%. The firm had revenue of $6.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.70%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 855.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total value of $145,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,026,339.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GILD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $76.00 to $74.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. HSBC raised Gilead Sciences from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $69.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.69.

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.