Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 25.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 190,773 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 38,530 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $21,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GILD. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 158.8% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 352 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 33.3% in the first quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 2.8%

NASDAQ:GILD traded up $3.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $110.67. 19,465,485 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,687,596. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.01 and a fifty-two week high of $119.96. The company has a market capitalization of $137.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.15.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.93% and a net margin of 20.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.32) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.82, for a total transaction of $249,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,674 shares in the company, valued at $16,537,578.68. This represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 121,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,026,263.04. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,500 shares of company stock worth $5,236,245 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $110.55.

About Gilead Sciences

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.