Creative Planning Buys 14,544 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Creative Planning lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 188,594 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,544 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $12,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 11,130 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $902,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Evoke Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $204,000. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 4,185 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 7,436 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 55.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,447 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at $6,545,480.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $83.94 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $104.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 233.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 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 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 for 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, research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GILD shares. Raymond James raised Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Twelve 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.06.

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.