Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 12,509 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC decreased its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 300,716 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 12,509 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $33,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 158.8% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 352 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ GILD traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $113.00. 6,149,820 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,745,018. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.64. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.69 and a 1 year high of $119.96. The company has a market cap of $140.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 305.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.29.

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

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is 66.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on GILD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $266,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 168,174 shares in the company, valued at $17,893,713.60. This trade represents a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.42, for a total value of $1,104,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 620,268 shares in the company, valued at $68,489,992.56. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,000 shares of company stock worth $4,630,310 in the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.