Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,662 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,484 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $7,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Aviva PLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 1,156,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $141,978,000 after purchasing an additional 59,782 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,418,000. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $100,056,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,754,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 106,526 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,075,000 after purchasing an additional 13,385 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.62, for a total transaction of $2,675,160.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,916,306.28. This represents a 58.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel O’Day sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.64, for a total transaction of $2,229,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 577,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,785,049.12. This trade represents a 2.53% 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. Insiders have sold 105,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,495,820 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $143.72 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.29. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.46 and a 1 year high of $157.29. The firm has a market cap of $178.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.83 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. The business had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -122.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GILD shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.78.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. The company’s research focuses primarily on virology, oncology, inflammation and related areas, with products serving patients in the United States and international markets.

Gilead is best known for its HIV treatments, including Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy and other antiretroviral therapies. Its portfolio also includes medicines for viral hepatitis, such as Epclusa and Vemlidy, and Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral treatment for COVID-19.