Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 22.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,241,354 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 416,379 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $190,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 198.3% during the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 51.6% in the second quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $91.86 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.55. The company has a market capitalization of $114.48 billion, a PE ratio of 1,020.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $98.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3,422.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total transaction of $23,064,310.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 138,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,886,126.44. This trade represents a 64.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total value of $167,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 100,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,398,843.87. This trade represents a 1.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 447,234 shares of company stock worth $41,288,086. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GILD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.43.

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.