The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 148,344 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 11.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,093,987 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 148,344 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $138,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Aviva PLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 1,156,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $141,978,000 after buying an additional 59,782 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,418,000. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth about $100,056,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth approximately $55,754,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 106,526 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,075,000 after acquiring an additional 13,385 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GILD. Weiss Ratings downgraded Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Daiwa Securities Group cut their target price on Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Gilead Sciences from $157.00 to $156.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.78.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $143.72 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.46 and a 1 year high of $157.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $178.21 billion, a PE ratio of -53.83 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.48 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is -122.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total value of $725,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,459,771.32. This trade represents a 33.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel O’Day sold 15,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total value of $1,954,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 592,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,160,851.23. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 105,000 shares of company stock worth $14,495,820 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. The company’s research focuses primarily on virology, oncology, inflammation and related areas, with products serving patients in the United States and international markets.

Gilead is best known for its HIV treatments, including Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy and other antiretroviral therapies. Its portfolio also includes medicines for viral hepatitis, such as Epclusa and Vemlidy, and Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral treatment for COVID-19.