Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 9,522 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 48.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,522 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $3,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 158.8% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 352 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.3%

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $109.02 on Thursday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.69 and a one year high of $119.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $105.40 and a 200 day moving average of $101.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $135.61 billion, a PE ratio of 294.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.32) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.82, for a total transaction of $249,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,537,578.68. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.42, for a total transaction of $1,104,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 620,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,489,992.56. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 60,929 shares of company stock valued at $6,748,980. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.