Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Acquired by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,414,268 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 93,068 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 1.00% of Gilead Sciences worth $851,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in 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. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 84,497,404 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,189,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,281 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.7% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 61,246,366 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,486,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589,240 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,630,134 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,509,227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,412,413 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $714,421,000 after buying an additional 268,208 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GILD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Raymond James upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Evercore ISI upgraded Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Twelve equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.06.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.0 %

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $83.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $103.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 230.67, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.18. 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 fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $87.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.53.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $6.95 billion during 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%. Equities research 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 disclosed 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. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 855.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $406,150.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 114,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,506,146.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of Gilead Sciences 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 owns 96,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,614,559.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 transaction, the insider now owns 114,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,506,146.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 36,847 shares of company stock worth $3,002,940. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.