Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Sold by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 9.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 27,323 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,834 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $2,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,301,624,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 78.8% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,632,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $618,268,000 after purchasing an additional 3,362,505 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,630,134 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,509,227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,550 shares during the period. abrdn plc boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 89.0% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 3,764,107 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $304,930,000 after buying an additional 1,772,887 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 59,657,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,832,824,000 after buying an additional 1,743,418 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $137,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,380 shares in the company, valued at $6,614,559.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD opened at $66.59 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.25. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $87.86. The company has a market cap of $82.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 184.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.69 billion during 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. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 855.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on GILD shares. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Monday. Maxim Group lowered their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.47.

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.