Axa S.A. Buys 201,769 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

AXA S.A. grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,800,057 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 201,769 shares during the period. AXA S.A. owned approximately 0.14% of Gilead Sciences worth $166,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $98.90. The company had a trading volume of 8,082,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,538,444. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $108.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $119.96. The stock has a market cap of $123.15 billion, a PE ratio of 267.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.32) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total transaction of $260,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,597,559.49. The trade was a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,605 shares of company stock valued at $16,718,136. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.