Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 6,418 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board reduced its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 11.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,028 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,418 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $3,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, April 26th. HSBC raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Maxim Group lowered their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $137,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 96,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,614,559.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD traded down $0.15 during trading on Monday, reaching $72.41. The company had a trading volume of 6,356,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,462,549. The company has a fifty day moving average of $67.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 201.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $87.86.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.49) by $0.17. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 24.34% and a net margin of 1.76%. The business had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend 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.