Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 3,323 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 8.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 36,861 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,323 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $3,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 101.9% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 198.3% in the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of GILD opened at $88.40 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $86.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 982.22, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.17. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $98.90.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.01 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3,422.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.86.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $6,545,480.06. This trade represents a 27.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 100,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,398,843.87. The trade was a 1.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,947 shares of company stock valued at $4,968,674. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.