Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 4,541 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 27.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,088 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 4,541 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,789,254,000. FMR LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,724,306,000 after purchasing an additional 7,157,113 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 13,891.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,550,298 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $285,761,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532,070 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,915,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,377,707,000 after buying an additional 2,458,954 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $207,340,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $3,010,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 121,152 shares in the company, valued at $13,026,263.04. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.82, for a total transaction of $249,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,537,578.68. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,500 shares of company stock worth $5,236,245 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD traded up $1.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $107.20. 7,916,435 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,664,630. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $106.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.98. The company has a market cap of $133.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.29. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.01 and a 52-week high of $119.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

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

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is currently 66.53%.

Gilead Sciences Profile

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.