Procyon Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Procyon Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 33.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,947 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 11,367 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $2,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GILD. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 460,936 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $42,577,000 after purchasing an additional 253,994 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 284,243 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,750,000 after buying an additional 14,009 shares during the last quarter. NatWest Group plc purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $6,808,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 219,579 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $20,283,000 after acquiring an additional 78,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 37,051 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,422,000 after acquiring an additional 13,086 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,026,263.04. This represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.82, for a total value of $249,550.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,537,578.68. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,929 shares of company stock valued at $6,748,980 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GILD shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. DZ Bank upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.8%

GILD opened at $112.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $139.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 303.95, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.69 and a 12 month high of $119.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $105.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.47.

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

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.53%.

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.