Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Decreases Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 33.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 17,994 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $4,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,789,254,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 21.6% in the 4th 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $285,761,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532,070 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 19.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,458,954 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $207,340,000. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GILD. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock traded down $2.31 on Monday, reaching $106.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,170,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,663,618. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.01 and a 12-month high of $119.96. The company has a market capitalization of $132.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.29. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $106.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.88.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.04. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.93% and a net margin of 20.76%. The company had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.32) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.