The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases Shares of 1,093,987 Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,093,987 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,214,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at about $764,000. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth about $1,031,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth about $127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $12,987,000. Finally, L2 Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,150,000. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on GILD. HSBC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $133.00 to $155.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $170.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.04.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $146.74 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.46 and a 1 year high of $157.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.95 billion, a PE ratio of -54.96 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.51 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently -122.85%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.36, for a total transaction of $415,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 165,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,918,780.56. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total transaction of $3,853,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 118,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,273,727.76. This trade represents a 19.15% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 87,000 shares of company stock worth $11,562,960 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.