Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,794 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,068 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GILD. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.8% in the third quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 3,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.2% in the third quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 9,397 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 0.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 17,822 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FDx Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 5,365 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $92.38 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $115.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,026.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year 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. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.01 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. Research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3,422.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 80,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,427,227.92. This trade represents a 67.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 8,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.96, for a total transaction of $781,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 132,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,173,021.08. The trade was a 6.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 453,734 shares of company stock valued at $41,902,086. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Gilead Sciences

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.