Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 687,154 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences by 9.2%, now owning approximately 0.55% of the company's shares, valued at $761.29 million.
• Gilead Sciences has experienced analyst upgrades, with Truist Financial changing its rating from "hold" to "buy" and raising the price target to $127.00.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, reflecting a 2.6% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 66.53%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,794,197 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 687,154 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.55% of Gilead Sciences worth $761,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GILD. Redwood Financial Network Corp grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 2,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Argentarii LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Argentarii LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,040 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 3,880 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 33.3% in the first quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD traded down $0.72 on Monday, hitting $118.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,037,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,381,572. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $110.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.33. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $72.43 and a one year high of $121.38.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 50.99% and a net margin of 21.86%. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is currently 62.95%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.94, for a total transaction of $1,139,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,016,306.50. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.74, for a total value of $548,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $978,880.80. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 82,000 shares of company stock worth $8,984,175. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GILD shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $108.00 to $127.00 in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.82.

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.