Hennessy Advisors Inc. Buys 400 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $4,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 223.1% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 349 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 27th. HSBC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $69.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Maxim Group decreased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.47.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:GILD traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $68.83. 6,859,832 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,638,361. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.07 and a 52 week high of $87.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 191.19, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $65.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.75.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.49) by $0.17. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 24.34% and a net margin of 1.76%. The firm had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 855.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total transaction of $145,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,026,339.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by 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.