Synovus Financial Corp Buys 2,452 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 14.1%, owning 19,786 shares worth approximately $2.22 million as per its recent SEC filing.
• In August, Gilead Sciences reported earnings of $2.01 per share, surpassing analysts' estimates and recording revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79, set to be paid on September 29th, which equates to a 2.8% yield annually.

Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 14.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,786 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,452 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $2,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Colonial Trust Advisors raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 304.3% in the 1st quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Core Alternative Capital raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 370.8% in the 1st quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $3,318,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 114,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,532,333.04. This represents a 19.70% 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 Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $296,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 160,110 shares in the company, valued at $18,977,838.30. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,000 shares of company stock worth $9,339,230 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Daiwa America raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Needham & Company LLC raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $108.00 to $127.00 in a report on Friday, August 8th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Gilead Sciences from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $128.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.39.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD traded down $1.36 on Thursday, reaching $112.56. The stock had a trading volume of 4,145,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,514,135. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.74 and a fifty-two week high of $121.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $112.92 and a 200-day moving average of $109.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $139.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.33.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.05. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 50.99% and a net margin of 21.86%.The business had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.950-8.250 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.95%.

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.