Verity & Verity LLC Has $36.70 Million Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Verity & Verity LLC reduced its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 13.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 327,570 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 50,532 shares during the period. Gilead Sciences makes up about 3.2% of Verity & Verity LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Verity & Verity LLC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $36,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,724,306,000 after purchasing an additional 7,157,113 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,659,007 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,293,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,331 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,289,917 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,608,337,000 after purchasing an additional 749,047 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $1,789,254,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 19.7% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $3,010,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,026,263.04. The trade was a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.42, for a total transaction of $1,104,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 620,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $68,489,992.56. This represents a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,000 shares of company stock worth $4,630,310 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GILD shares. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD traded down $2.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $109.98. The stock had a trading volume of 8,148,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,744,306. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $136.81 billion, a PE ratio of 297.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.33. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.69 and a 12 month high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. The company had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($1.32) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.53%.

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.