Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC Makes New $231,000 Investment in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,365 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 198.3% during the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 51.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GILD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.06.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ GILD opened at $83.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 232.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $77.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.37. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $87.86.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The company had revenue of $6.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 855.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $406,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 114,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,506,146.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $137,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,614,559.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 114,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,506,146.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,847 shares of company stock valued at $3,002,940 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences 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.