Argent Advisors Inc. Purchases 533 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Argent Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,286 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the quarter. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 497,098 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,106,000 after buying an additional 11,657 shares in the last quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 4,119 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,416,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 5,634 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Center For Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 18,163 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was 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 owns 114,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,506,146.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was 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 owns 114,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,506,146.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 96,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,614,559.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GILD. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Raymond James raised Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Evercore ISI raised Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.94.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ GILD traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.00. The company had a trading volume of 6,204,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,175,005. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 219.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $87.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $72.93 and its 200-day moving average is $70.32.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 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.