Sapient Capital LLC Has $20.77 Million Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Sapient Capital LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 7,067.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,360 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 182,774 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $20,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 158.8% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 352 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $3,010,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 121,152 shares in the company, valued at $13,026,263.04. This represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.82, for a total value of $249,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,674 shares in the company, valued at $16,537,578.68. This represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,000 shares of company stock worth $4,630,310 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ GILD traded down $2.07 on Friday, hitting $109.98. 8,148,740 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,744,306. The company's 50 day moving average price is $105.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 297.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.29. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.69 and a twelve month high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.32) EPS. Analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is 66.53%.

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.