Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 102,792 Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 102,792 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,987,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,887 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,724 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Trust Co. increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 1,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 6,619 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $812,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total value of $1,954,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 592,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,160,851.23. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total value of $3,853,920.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 118,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,273,727.76. This trade represents a 19.15% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 87,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,562,960. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GILD. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $146.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 27th. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.04.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of GILD stock opened at $146.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $181.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -54.96 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.46 and a fifty-two week high of $157.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.57.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently -122.85%.

Gilead Sciences 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.