Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,661 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 194 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GILD. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.1% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 361,503 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,803,000 after purchasing an additional 3,931 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,030,426 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $207,918,000 after buying an additional 737,109 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.6% during the second quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,663 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 106.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,671,631 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $114,742,000 after acquiring an additional 860,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at about $301,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $406,150.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares in the company, valued at $8,506,146.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $137,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,380 shares in the company, valued at $6,614,559.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total value of $406,150.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,506,146.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.06.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.1 %

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $78.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.14. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $87.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 218.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $6.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 29.34%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 855.56%.

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.