Cooper Financial Group Buys Shares of 2,342 Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Key Points

• Cooper Financial Group has acquired 2,342 shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. valued at approximately $262,000 in the first quarter, as reported in the company's latest SEC filing.
• Gilead's stock is currently trading at around $120.47, with a market capitalization of $149.48 billion and an average price target of $114.82 from market analysts.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, with the dividend payout ratio standing at 62.95%, reflecting strong financial performance.

Cooper Financial Group purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,342 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 13,891.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,550,298 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $285,761,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532,070 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,915,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,377,707,000 after buying an additional 2,458,954 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 422.6% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,523,036 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $282,706,000 after buying an additional 2,040,261 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,678,751 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $801,655,000 after buying an additional 2,005,863 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,470,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $13,162,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,942,433 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on GILD. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer lowered 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, 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 price objective on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.82.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $120.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.83. The company has a market capitalization of $149.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.33. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.43 and a twelve month high of $121.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.95 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 21.86% and a return on equity of 50.99%. The firm's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. Equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.03, for a total transaction of $277,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,054,588.30. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.94, for a total transaction of $1,139,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,016,306.50. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,984,175 over the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company 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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