Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,994 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 432 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GILD. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 198.3% in the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 101.9% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $2,459,529.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. This represents a 27.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total value of $2,341,485.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,113,308.50. This trade represents a 20.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,947 shares of company stock valued at $4,968,674. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GILD. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI raised Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.10.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $92.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $114.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,023.44, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3,422.22%.

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.