Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC cut its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 18.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,212 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 4,514 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $2,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,724,306,000 after purchasing an additional 7,157,113 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,659,007 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,293,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,331 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,289,917 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,608,337,000 after buying an additional 749,047 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,789,254,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,915,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,377,707,000 after buying an additional 2,458,954 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 8,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $978,880.80. The trade was a 35.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the firm's 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 $333,090.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 117,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,009,163.04. The trade was a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 72,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,844,775. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $108.22. The stock had a trading volume of 6,627,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,664,711. The company has a market capitalization of $134.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.78 and a 12-month high of $119.96. The company's 50-day moving average is $108.58 and its 200 day moving average is $105.06.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 20.76% and a return on equity of 51.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.32) earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on GILD. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.38.

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.