Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 55,841 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,023,984 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,841 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $253,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,328,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings 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 worth $851,743,000 after purchasing an additional 93,068 shares in the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the third quarter valued at about $830,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the first quarter valued at about $462,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $19,630,000 after buying an additional 33,162 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,545,480.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 ninety days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ GILD opened at $94.35 on Wednesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $98.90. The company has a market capitalization of $117.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,048.33, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $85.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3,422.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GILD shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Leerink Partners upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $74.00 to $96.00 in a report on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.50.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.