Verity & Verity LLC Has $30.80 Million Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Verity & Verity LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 367,331 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 2,250 shares during the period. Gilead Sciences comprises 3.0% of Verity & Verity LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $30,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 121,072 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,868,000 after acquiring an additional 23,213 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 32.8% during the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 18,044 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 4,461 shares during the period. Natixis boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 40.5% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 152,226 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,151,000 after purchasing an additional 43,916 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter worth approximately $250,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter valued at $141,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Leerink Partnrs raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Maxim Group cut shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was 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 represents a 1.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total value of $2,459,529.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. This represents a 27.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,947 shares of company stock worth $4,968,674 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $88.46 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $98.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $86.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.27. The firm has a market cap of $110.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 982.89, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.17.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.01 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 3,422.22%.

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.