Welch Group LLC Has $303,000 Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Welch Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 25.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,136 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 844 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 223.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 349 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $81.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 4th. HSBC raised Gilead Sciences from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.47.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total value of $145,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,304 shares in the company, valued at $7,026,339.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $68.49 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $87.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.03. The company has a market capitalization of $85.33 billion, a PE ratio of 190.25, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.49) by $0.17. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 24.34% and a net margin of 1.76%. The business had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.50%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 855.56%.

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.