Bellecapital International Ltd. Reduces Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Bellecapital International Ltd. lowered its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 40.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,035 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,415 shares during the period. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $1,789,254,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,724,306,000 after purchasing an additional 7,157,113 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 13,891.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,550,298 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $285,761,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532,070 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,915,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,377,707,000 after buying an additional 2,458,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,340,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.7%

GILD stock opened at $109.30 on Thursday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.69 and a 12-month high of $119.96. The business’s 50-day moving average is $105.40 and its 200 day moving average is $101.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $135.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 295.41, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.04. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.32) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $3,010,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 121,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,026,263.04. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.42, for a total value of $1,104,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 620,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,489,992.56. The trade was a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 43,000 shares of company stock worth $4,630,310. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on GILD shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. DZ Bank upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.55.

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.