Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Sold by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lessened its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 54.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 208,247 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 248,465 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $14,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at $25,328,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 317,539 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,724,000 after purchasing an additional 60,697 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the first quarter valued at approximately $462,000. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 751.1% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 127,258 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,322,000 after buying an additional 112,305 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 329,990 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,733,000 after buying an additional 31,849 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on GILD. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a 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. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, July 8th. Twelve research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $137,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,614,559.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $137,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,614,559.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,847 shares of company stock valued at $3,002,940 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

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

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company 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. 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 payout ratio is currently 855.56%.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.