Western Financial Corp CA Takes $1.11 Million Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Western Financial Corp CA bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,902 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 122.7% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 460,936 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $42,577,000 after acquiring an additional 253,994 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 284,243 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,750,000 after acquiring an additional 14,009 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 37,051 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,422,000 after acquiring an additional 13,086 shares in the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,699,000. Finally, JFG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $427,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 1.2%

GILD opened at $105.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $106.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.01 and a 12-month high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.77 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 20.76% and a return on equity of 51.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.32) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $3,010,560.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 121,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,026,263.04. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $266,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 168,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,893,713.60. This trade represents a 1.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,236,245. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.55.

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.