Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Invests $2.74 Million in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 21,689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,740,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 60.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total value of $371,760.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 124,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,395,077.28. This represents a 2.36% 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 this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.40, for a total value of $376,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 171,646 shares in the company, valued at $21,524,408.40. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 51,000 shares of company stock valued at $6,568,860 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $138.92 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.46 and a 52 week high of $157.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $130.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market cap of $172.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -52.03 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The company had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently -122.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on GILD. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Leerink Partners cut shares of Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $146.00 to $127.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. HSBC upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $133.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.04.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.