Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Makes New $430,000 Investment in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,660 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $430,000.

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

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Gilead Sciences stock traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $108.44. 4,591,543 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,722,873. The company has a market cap of $134.89 billion, a PE ratio of 293.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $119.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $105.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.52.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.32) EPS. Gilead Sciences's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is 66.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 121,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,026,263.04. This 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 at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $266,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 168,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,893,713.60. This trade represents a 1.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,929 shares of company stock worth $5,644,780. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America upped 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.55.

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.