Smithfield Trust Co Grows Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Smithfield Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 41.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,510 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the first quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 24.5% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,916 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 3,521 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 6.1% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,410,443 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $103,315,000 after purchasing an additional 80,666 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 18.7% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 887,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $65,044,000 after purchasing an additional 139,907 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 969,733 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $71,032,000 after buying an additional 24,683 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,545,480.06. This trade represents a 27.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total transaction of $2,341,485.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,599 shares in the company, valued at $9,113,308.50. This trade represents a 20.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,947 shares of company stock valued at $4,968,674 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $89.84 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $87.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.96 billion, a PE ratio of 998.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $98.90.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3,422.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GILD shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Maxim Group downgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.41.

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.