Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Lowers Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY trimmed its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 29.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 664,857 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 277,872 shares during the period. Gilead Sciences accounts for approximately 2.4% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned 0.05% of Gilead Sciences worth $74,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Capital Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 4,555.0% in the first quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 931 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares during the period. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 216.4% in the first quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 67,407 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,553,000 after purchasing an additional 46,100 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.9% in the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,153 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 5.0% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 167,618 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $18,782,000 after purchasing an additional 7,925 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.9% in the first quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 13,201 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,479,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Oppenheimer decreased 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. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Nine equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of GILD traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $111.28. The stock had a trading volume of 4,039,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,692,289. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.01 and a 1-year high of $119.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.80.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.93% and a net margin of 20.76%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.32) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is 66.53%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $3,010,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 121,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,026,263.04. The trade was a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.42, for a total value of $1,104,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 620,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,489,992.56. The trade was a 1.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,500 shares of company stock valued at $6,340,745 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.