Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Purchased by Motley Fool Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 5.4%, owning 70,700 shares valued at approximately $7.9 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Gilead Sciences' shares have been upgraded by several analysts, with Morgan Stanley raising the price target from $130 to $135, and Needham upgrading from "hold" to "buy" with a $133 target.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79, with a 2.6% yield, to be paid on September 29th, and a payout ratio of 62.95%.

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,597 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $7,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 7.2% in the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 34,435 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,858,000 after purchasing an additional 2,307 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 52.2% during the first quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 10,209 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 3,503 shares during the period. CCM Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the first quarter valued at $5,703,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the first quarter valued at $620,415,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the first quarter valued at $1,356,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GILD shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer dropped 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. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.82.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 8.3%

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $119.41 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $148.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.79, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.64. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.43 and a 52 week high of $121.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.95 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 50.99% and a net margin of 21.86%. The firm's quarterly 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. On average, research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is presently 62.95%.

Insider Activity

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 value of $277,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,054,588.30. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.03, for a total value of $333,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 117,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,009,163.04. This represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,984,175 over the last three months. Corporate 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.