Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 47.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 254,020 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 82,179 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $28,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $1,789,254,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,724,306,000 after buying an additional 7,157,113 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 13,891.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,550,298 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $285,761,000 after buying an additional 2,532,070 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,915,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,377,707,000 after buying an additional 2,458,954 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,678,751 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $801,655,000 after buying an additional 2,005,863 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD stock traded up $2.29 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $111.93. 1,543,071 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,679,058. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.21 and a 12 month high of $119.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $107.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.23 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.29.

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

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is 66.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.17, for a total transaction of $275,425.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 165,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,190,168.70. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 615,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,006,826.25. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,500 shares of company stock valued at $6,340,745 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.