Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 253,695 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 12.3% in the first quarter, now owning 2,309,885 shares worth approximately $258.82 million.
• Significant institutional investment in Gilead has been observed, with firms like Vanguard Group Inc. and Northern Trust Corp. increasing their stakes in the company, leading to 83.67% of the stock being held by institutional investors.
• Analysts have varying new price targets for Gilead shares, with Oppenheimer lowering theirs to $125.00 while Morgan Stanley increased theirs to $135.00, indicating mixed sentiment in the market regarding the stock's future performance.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 12.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,309,885 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 253,695 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.19% of Gilead Sciences worth $258,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 13,891.1% during the first 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 fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,915,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,377,707,000 after buying an additional 2,458,954 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 422.6% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,523,036 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $282,706,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040,261 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,678,751 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $801,655,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,470,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $13,162,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942,433 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.6%

GILD stock traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $118.65. The company had a trading volume of 3,259,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,389,340. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.64. The company has a market capitalization of $147.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.62, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.33. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.43 and a 52 week high of $121.38.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.05. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 50.99% and a net margin of 21.86%. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is currently 62.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.74, for a total transaction of $548,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $978,880.80. The trade was a 35.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.45, for a total value of $1,104,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 615,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,006,826.25. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,984,175 over the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.82.

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.