104,313 Shares in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Acquired by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences, purchasing 104,313 shares valued at approximately $11.7 million during the first quarter.
• Insider sales recently occurred, with CFO Andrew D. Dickinson selling 2,500 shares and Director Jeffrey Bluestone selling 5,000 shares, contributing to a total of 82,000 shares sold by insiders in the past three months.
• Gilead Sciences has received positive analyst attention with multiple firms adjusting their price targets, including Needham & Company raising their target to $133.00 and Morgan Stanley to $135.00.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 104,313 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $11,688,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $523,000. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 3,395 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 773,847 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $71,480,000 after purchasing an additional 44,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 71,087 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,566,000 after purchasing an additional 8,970 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on GILD. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.82.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 1.0%

GILD traded down $1.15 during trading on Monday, reaching $118.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,247,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,382,412. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $146.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.33. The stock's 50 day moving average is $110.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.64. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $72.43 and a one year high of $121.38.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.05. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 21.86% and a return on equity of 50.99%. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. Gilead Sciences's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.74, for a total value of $548,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $978,880.80. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.03, for a total value of $277,575.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 162,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,054,588.30. The trade was a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 82,000 shares of company stock worth $8,984,175. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.