Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Reduces Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lowered its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. 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 owned about 0.11% of Gilead Sciences worth $98,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 198.3% in the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $83.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.58 billion, a PE ratio of 233.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $76.95 and a 200-day moving average of $71.26. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.07 and a 52 week high of $87.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its 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 analyst estimates of $6.64 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 3.79%. Analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders 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 855.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the company’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 $6,545,480.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Gilead Sciences 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 transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $2,459,529.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at $6,545,480.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,847 shares of company stock worth $3,002,940 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GILD. Truist Financial upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Raymond James raised Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 price objective for the company 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. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, September 4th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.