Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $98.03 Million Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,428,838 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,940 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $98,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 198.3% in the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the first quarter worth $29,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 51.6% in the second quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD opened at $83.94 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $76.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.26. 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 52 week low of $62.07 and a 52 week high of $87.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.58 billion, a PE ratio of 233.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.18.

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

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 855.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

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

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.