Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Decreases Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. cut its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,209 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 337 shares during the quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

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

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 3.79%. On average, analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $137,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,380 shares in the company, valued at $6,614,559.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,847 shares of company stock worth $3,002,940. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on GILD. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences 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.