21,689 Shares in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Purchased by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group acquired 21,689 Gilead Sciences shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $2.74 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.67% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 24 Buy ratings and five Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $158.04.
• Gilead reported quarterly revenue of $7.80 billion, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, representing a 2.4% annualized yield. Meanwhile, insiders sold 51,000 shares worth about $6.57 million over the past 90 days.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 21,689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $2,740,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,887 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,724 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Trust Co. increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 1,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 6,619 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $170.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. HSBC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $155.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Gilead Sciences from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.40, for a total transaction of $376,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 171,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,524,408.40. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total transaction of $371,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 124,234 shares in the company, valued at $15,395,077.28. This represents a 2.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,000 shares of company stock worth $6,568,860. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $138.92 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.46 and a 12-month high of $157.29. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $130.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.25 billion, a PE ratio of -52.03 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is -122.85%.

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.

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