Holderness Investments Co. Trims Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Holderness Investments Co. lessened its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,974 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 364 shares during the quarter. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $618,268,000 after buying an additional 3,362,505 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,732,575 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,404,161,000 after buying an additional 2,910,147 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position 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. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the first quarter valued at approximately $134,489,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 59,657,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,832,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743,418 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total value of $406,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,506,146.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $406,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,506,146.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,847 shares of company stock valued at $3,002,940 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $83.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $76.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.25. The company has a market cap of $104.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 233.17, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $87.86.

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

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given 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 yield of 3.67%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 855.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James raised Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Evercore ISI raised Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Twelve 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.06.

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.