Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Sold by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB cut its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 5.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 119,661 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 7,454 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $13,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,789,254,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,724,306,000 after acquiring an additional 7,157,113 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 13,891.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,550,298 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $285,761,000 after acquiring an additional 2,532,070 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,915,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,377,707,000 after acquiring an additional 2,458,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $207,340,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.82, for a total transaction of $249,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,537,578.68. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $3,010,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,026,263.04. The trade was a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,000 shares of company stock worth $4,630,310. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. DZ Bank raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD stock opened at $113.00 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $140.56 billion, a PE ratio of 305.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.29. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.69 and a 12-month high of $119.96. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $105.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.80.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.32) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.53%.

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.