Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Has $23.78 Million Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 346,660 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,890 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $23,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 198.3% during the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James raised Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.06.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $83.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $104.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 233.06, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.18. The business’s fifty day moving average is $76.67 and its 200 day moving average is $71.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $87.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

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

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 855.56%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total value of $2,459,529.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,545,480.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $137,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,614,559.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total value of $2,459,529.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at $6,545,480.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 36,847 shares of company stock valued at $3,002,940. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.