Northern Trust Corp Buys 2,458,954 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 19.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,915,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,458,954 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.20% of Gilead Sciences worth $1,377,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $1,789,254,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,724,306,000 after buying an additional 7,157,113 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 723.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,434,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $594,370,000 after acquiring an additional 5,653,075 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,340,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $158,334,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD traded up $0.43 on Friday, reaching $103.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,032,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,528,671. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $119.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 280.22, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $108.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.82.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 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 business had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.32) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is 66.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on GILD. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Nine investment 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.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $266,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 160,605 shares of company stock worth $16,718,136 in the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.