Axa S.A. Sells 193,526 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Axa S.A. cut its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 10.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,745,881 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 193,526 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A. owned about 0.14% of Gilead Sciences worth $119,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,328,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 317,539 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,724,000 after acquiring an additional 60,697 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at $462,000. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 751.1% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 127,258 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,322,000 after purchasing an additional 112,305 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 329,990 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,733,000 after purchasing an additional 31,849 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of Gilead Sciences 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,506,146.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $137,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,380 shares in the company, valued at $6,614,559.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total value of $406,150.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 worth $3,002,940 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $83.79 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $77.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $87.86. The company has a market cap of $104.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 232.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.78 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 3.68%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 855.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GILD shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Raymond James raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI raised Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.