Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 11,038 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,086 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 11,038 shares during the period. Gilead Sciences accounts for 0.5% of Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,732,575 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,404,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,147 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 84,497,404 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,189,435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,281 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the first 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. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 0.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,414,268 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $851,743,000 after acquiring an additional 93,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,412,413 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $714,421,000 after acquiring an additional 268,208 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GILD. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.86.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $92.11 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.79 billion, a PE ratio of 1,023.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.17. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $98.90.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.01 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. Gilead Sciences’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 3,422.22%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total transaction of $2,341,485.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 99,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,113,308.50. This trade represents a 20.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $2,459,529.46. Following the sale, 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 have sold 56,947 shares of company stock valued at $4,968,674 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.