CWA Asset Management Group LLC Grows Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 50.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 115,575 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,632 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $12,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bridgewater Associates LP grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 122.7% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 460,936 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $42,577,000 after acquiring an additional 253,994 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $26,750,000 after purchasing an additional 14,009 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 54.6% during the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 37,051 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,422,000 after purchasing an additional 13,086 shares in the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $1,699,000. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 68,447 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,322,000 after buying an additional 9,330 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 2.6%

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $108.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.37. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.69 and a one year high of $119.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.04. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 20.76% and a return on equity of 51.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.32) EPS. Gilead Sciences’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 66.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.42, for a total transaction of $1,104,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 620,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,489,992.56. The trade was a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $266,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 168,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,893,713.60. The trade was a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,236,245 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.