Eastern Bank Invests $90,000 in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,075 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 198.3% in the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $89.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $82.16 and a 200 day moving average of $73.28. The company has a market capitalization of $110.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 247.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.07 and a 52 week high of $89.74.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $6.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 3.79%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 855.56%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $406,150.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,506,146.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $406,150.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,506,146.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total transaction of $167,660.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,189 shares in the company, valued at $8,398,843.87. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 36,847 shares of company stock valued at $3,033,340. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GILD shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Leerink Partnrs raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Leerink Partners upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Gilead Sciences from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $78.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.85.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.