OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Takes Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 441,303 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,754,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,887 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,724 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Davidson Trust Co. boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 4.1% in the first quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 1,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 6,619 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $812,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $146.12 on Monday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.46 and a 1 year high of $157.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $131.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $181.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -54.73 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The company had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.51 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently -122.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total transaction of $1,954,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 592,133 shares in the company, valued at $77,160,851.23. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total transaction of $3,853,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 118,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,273,727.76. The trade was a 19.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 87,000 shares of company stock worth $11,562,960 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on GILD. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $170.00 to $167.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Maxim Group upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.04.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.