Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Sells 769 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 7.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,251 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 769 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GILD. FMR LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,724,306,000 after buying an additional 7,157,113 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,659,007 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,293,822,000 after buying an additional 1,058,331 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,289,917 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,608,337,000 after buying an additional 749,047 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,789,254,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,915,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,377,707,000 after buying an additional 2,458,954 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of GILD stock opened at $105.93 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $106.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.03. The company has a market cap of $131.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.29. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.01 and a fifty-two week high of $119.96. 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 (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.93% and a net margin of 20.76%. The company’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.32) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.82, for a total value of $249,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,537,578.68. This represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $3,010,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,026,263.04. The trade was a 18.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,236,245 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.