Eagle Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 207,698 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 62,272 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $17,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 887,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $65,044,000 after acquiring an additional 139,907 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 969,733 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $71,032,000 after acquiring an additional 24,683 shares during the period. BOKF NA raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. BOKF NA now owns 124,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,069,000 after acquiring an additional 9,276 shares during the period. Ceeto Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Ceeto Capital Group LLC now owns 16,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Sarissa Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in the first quarter. Sarissa Capital Management LP now owns 1,103,282 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $80,815,000 after purchasing an additional 27,882 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD opened at $90.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $87.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $112.40 billion, a PE ratio of 1,002.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 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 issued 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. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 3,422.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Daiwa America raised Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.41.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total transaction of $167,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,398,843.87. The trade was a 1.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,947 shares of company stock valued at $4,968,674 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.