Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Has $2.24 Million Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 13.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 26,699 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,261 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $2,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GILD. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at about $25,328,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 0.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,414,268 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $851,743,000 after acquiring an additional 93,068 shares during the period. IRON Financial LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the third quarter valued at about $830,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the first quarter valued at about $462,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 13.1% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 286,116 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $19,630,000 after acquiring an additional 33,162 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $96.57 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.03. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $98.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,072.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 28.60%. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors 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 yield of 3.19%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3,422.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.50.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at $6,545,480.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Gilead Sciences 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 value of $2,341,485.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,113,308.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $2,459,529.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 62,437 shares of company stock worth $5,374,825 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.