Arizona State Retirement System Purchases 26,089 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 385,832 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,089 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $43,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GILD. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 460,936 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $42,577,000 after acquiring an additional 253,994 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 284,243 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,750,000 after purchasing an additional 14,009 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 14.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 863 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 37,051 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,422,000 after acquiring an additional 13,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $1,699,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ GILD traded down $3.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $109.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,937,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,686,668. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $107.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $70.21 and a 1 year high of $119.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.77 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 20.76% and a return on equity of 51.93%. Gilead Sciences's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.32) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GILD. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.17, for a total transaction of $275,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 165,110 shares in the company, valued at $18,190,168.70. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.45, for a total transaction of $1,104,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 615,725 shares in the company, valued at $68,006,826.25. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,000 shares of company stock valued at $6,074,745. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences 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.