Conning Inc. Sells 102,496 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Conning Inc. lowered its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 24.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 312,727 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 102,496 shares during the period. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $35,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,789,254,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,724,306,000 after purchasing an additional 7,157,113 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 13,891.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,550,298 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $285,761,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532,070 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,915,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,377,707,000 after purchasing an additional 2,458,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,340,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.2%

GILD stock opened at $111.28 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.01 and a 52 week high of $119.96. The company has a market capitalization of $138.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.29. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $106.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.32) EPS. The business's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is 66.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GILD shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.55.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.45, for a total value of $1,104,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 615,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,006,826.25. The trade was a 1.60% 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 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.17, for a total transaction of $330,510.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 120,168 shares in the company, valued at $13,238,908.56. The trade was a 2.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 58,500 shares of company stock valued at $6,340,745. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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