HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 5.1%, owning 1,702,410 shares worth approximately $190.76 million after selling 91,289 shares in Q1.
• The company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.79 on September 29th, representing an annualized yield of 2.6%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Gilead Sciences, with seven giving a hold rating, sixteen a buy rating, and an average target price of $114.82 for the stock.

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,702,410 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 91,289 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.14% of Gilead Sciences worth $190,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 76,447 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $1,103,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 39,163 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,617,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $216,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related 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 owned 8,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $978,880.80. The trade was a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction 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 $18,054,588.30. The trade was a 1.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,000 shares of company stock worth $8,984,175. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.9%

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $120.47 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.43 and a 12 month high of $121.38. The firm has a market cap of $149.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.83.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is presently 62.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial upgraded 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 note on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.

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