Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Acquires 159 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 148,490 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $12,449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,328,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,414,268 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $851,743,000 after buying an additional 93,068 shares in the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the third quarter valued at $830,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 13.1% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 286,116 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $19,630,000 after acquiring an additional 33,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 127.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 213,901 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $15,668,000 after acquiring an additional 119,909 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ GILD opened at $88.46 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $98.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $110.25 billion, a PE ratio of 982.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.17.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3,422.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GILD. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.00.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. The trade was a 27.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total value of $167,660.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,398,843.87. This trade represents a 1.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,947 shares of company stock valued at $4,968,674 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.