Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 9,522 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 48.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 9,522 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $3,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 122.7% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 460,936 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $42,577,000 after buying an additional 253,994 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 284,243 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,750,000 after buying an additional 14,009 shares in the last quarter. NatWest Group plc bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $6,808,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 219,579 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $20,283,000 after acquiring an additional 78,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 54.6% during the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 37,051 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,422,000 after acquiring an additional 13,086 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,152 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.42, for a total transaction of $1,104,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 620,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,489,992.56. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 60,929 shares of company stock worth $6,748,980. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GILD. Bank of America boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of 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 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Nine equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.8%

NASDAQ GILD traded up $2.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $112.46. 5,263,529 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,743,429. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.69 and a 12 month high of $119.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.30. The company has a market capitalization of $139.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 303.95, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($1.32) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.53%.

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.