Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,082,902 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 209,199 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.09% of Gilead Sciences worth $87,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 223.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 349 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total transaction of $145,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,026,339.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ GILD traded up $0.15 on Friday, hitting $65.42. The company had a trading volume of 12,382,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,443,315. The company has a market capitalization of $81.45 billion, a PE ratio of 181.72, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.19. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $71.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.63 and a 12-month high of $87.86.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.49) by $0.17. The company had revenue of $6.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.36 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 855.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial cut shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.87.

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.