Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 22.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,241,354 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 416,379 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.18% of Gilead Sciences worth $190,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 101.9% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 198.3% during the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $91.86 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $114.48 billion, a PE ratio of 1,020.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $98.90.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 3,422.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total value of $167,660.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,398,843.87. This represents a 1.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total transaction of $23,064,310.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 138,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,886,126.44. The trade was a 64.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 447,234 shares of company stock valued at $41,288,086. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on GILD. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $74.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.43.

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.