Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Stake Lifted by National Pension Service

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. by 6.9%, acquiring an additional 223,171 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to approximately 3.47 million shares.
• Recently, the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, set to be paid on September 29th, with a dividend yield of 2.6%.
• Insider trading activity showed that CFO Andrew D. Dickinson and Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold shares, with total insider sales in the last three months amounting to 82,000 shares valued at nearly $9 million.

National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,473,373 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 223,171 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.28% of Gilead Sciences worth $389,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the first quarter valued at $267,000. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,766,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,249,867 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $140,022,000 after purchasing an additional 250,538 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 442,718 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $49,590,000 after buying an additional 11,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.1% during the first quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 84,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,461,000 after buying an additional 4,135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD traded down $1.12 during trading on Thursday, reaching $119.02. 5,461,007 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,342,033. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.33. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.89 and a 12 month high of $121.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $111.76 and a 200-day moving average of $108.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $6.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on GILD. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.82.

Insider Activity

In other Gilead Sciences news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.94, for a total value of $1,139,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 605,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,016,306.50. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.74, for a total transaction of $548,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,920 shares in the company, valued at $978,880.80. The trade was a 35.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 79,500 shares of company stock worth $8,734,625 over the last ninety days. 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.