WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Gilead Sciences makes up approximately 2.8% of WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $7,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 158.8% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 352 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $266,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 168,174 shares in the company, valued at $17,893,713.60. This represents a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $3,010,560.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 121,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,026,263.04. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,929 shares of company stock valued at $6,748,980. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD stock opened at $112.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $139.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 303.95, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.69 and a twelve month high of $119.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. The company’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.32) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 66.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.55.

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.