Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Takes Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,313 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $96,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 18,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 8,862 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,607 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Steph & Co. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 7,548 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.5% in the first quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 4,342 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $70.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $88.12 billion, a PE ratio of 196.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.20. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $87.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $65.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.84.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.49) by $0.17. The company had revenue of $6.69 billion for 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 24.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 855.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 4th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $81.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Maxim Group 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 report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.47.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total value of $145,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,026,339.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.