Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,335 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $677,000. Gilead Sciences comprises about 0.5% of Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GILD. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ GILD traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $108.44. The company had a trading volume of 4,589,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,714,362. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $119.96. The company has a market cap of $134.89 billion, a PE ratio of 293.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a 50 day moving average of $105.33 and a 200-day moving average of $100.52.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released 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. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. The company had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.32) earnings per share. Gilead Sciences's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 2.91%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $110.55.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $3,010,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 121,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,026,263.04. This represents a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total transaction of $2,118,669.93. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 169,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,977,938.37. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 50,929 shares of company stock worth $5,644,780. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.