Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Acquired by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 36.6%, acquiring 86,583 shares for a total of 322,907 shares valued at $36.18 million.
• Institutional investors own 83.67% of Gilead Sciences stock, with significant increases in holdings reported by GAMMA Investing LLC (up 13,891.1%) and Los Angeles Capital Management LLC (up 422.6%).
• The stock of Gilead Sciences is down 1.8% and has a current market capitalization of approximately $139.89 billion, with analysts maintaining a moderate buy rating.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 36.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 322,907 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 86,583 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $36,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GILD. West Michigan Advisors LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter worth about $639,000. LCM Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 9,651 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,081,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 21,042 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,358,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 12.5% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,119 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 24,757 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,774,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.82.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.74, for a total value of $548,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $978,880.80. The trade was a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.03, for a total transaction of $277,575.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,610 shares in the company, valued at $18,054,588.30. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,000 shares of company stock worth $8,984,175 in the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 8.3%

Shares of NASDAQ GILD traded up $9.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $119.41. 13,112,190 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,807,634. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.43 and a 12-month high of $121.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $110.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.43. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.95 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 21.86%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio 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.