Mechanics Bank Trust Department Boosts Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 51.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,260 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GILD shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 3.1%

Gilead Sciences stock traded up $3.38 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $112.40. The stock had a trading volume of 2,809,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,715,732. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.81 billion, a PE ratio of 303.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $105.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.69 and a fifty-two week high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. The company had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.32) earnings per share. Gilead Sciences's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is currently 66.53%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 121,152 shares in the company, valued at $13,026,263.04. This represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total value of $2,118,669.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares in the company, valued at $19,977,938.37. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 60,929 shares of company stock valued at $6,748,980. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.