Johnson Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,550 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,797 shares during the quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $103.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.46 billion, a PE ratio of 278.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $119.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.08. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. The company had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.32) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 854.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given 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 a consensus target price of $109.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 137,676 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.22, for a total value of $14,073,240.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 171,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,502,415.06. This represents a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,540,875 over the last 90 days. Corporate 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.