Bank of Montreal Can Boosts Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,347,752 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 753,545 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.35% of Gilead Sciences worth $298,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 6,791 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,473 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 5,708 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 64,218 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,202,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 5,972 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other 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 directly owns 96,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,614,559.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $406,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares in the company, valued at $8,506,146.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s 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 owns 96,380 shares in the company, valued at $6,614,559.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 36,847 shares of company stock valued at $3,002,940. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on GILD. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI raised Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.06.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $83.94 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 233.17, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.24. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $87.86. 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 (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 3.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors 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 presently 855.56%.

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.