Wedmont Private Capital Grows Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 20.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,259 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,778 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,789,254,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,724,306,000 after acquiring an additional 7,157,113 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 13,891.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,550,298 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $285,761,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532,070 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,915,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,377,707,000 after purchasing an additional 2,458,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at $207,340,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $112.46 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $139.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 303.95, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $105.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.69 and a 12 month high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.32) EPS. Gilead Sciences's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is currently 66.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.82, for a total value of $249,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,537,578.68. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.42, for a total value of $1,104,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 620,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $68,489,992.56. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 43,000 shares of company stock worth $4,630,310. Corporate 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.

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