First Western Trust Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

First Western Trust Bank lessened its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 5,014 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $4,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the first quarter worth about $134,489,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 8,238.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,642,504 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $137,708,000 after buying an additional 1,622,806 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 61,246,366 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,486,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589,240 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 24.7% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,889,663 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $541,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth $102,298,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total value of $2,341,485.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,113,308.50. The trade was a 20.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the 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 directly owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,545,480.06. The trade was a 27.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,947 shares of company stock worth $4,968,674 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $88.40 on Monday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $98.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $86.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.11. The company has a market capitalization of $110.17 billion, a PE ratio of 982.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.17.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3,422.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GILD shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.86.

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.