Cypress Capital Group Reduces Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Cypress Capital Group lowered its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 50,284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 635 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $4,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the first quarter worth approximately $134,489,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 8,238.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,642,504 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $137,708,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622,806 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 24.7% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,889,663 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $541,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,792 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth approximately $102,298,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 159.8% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,337,717 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $195,994,000 after buying an additional 1,437,842 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of GILD stock opened at $88.63 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $110.46 billion, a PE ratio of 984.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.52. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $98.90.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The firm had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 3,422.22%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 100,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,398,843.87. This trade represents a 1.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total value of $2,459,529.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at $6,545,480.06. This represents a 27.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,947 shares of company stock worth $4,968,674 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Daiwa America raised shares of Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.00.

About Gilead Sciences

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.