Wright Investors Service Inc. Purchases 10,631 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Wright Investors Service Inc. grew its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 19.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,123 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,631 shares during the quarter. Gilead Sciences makes up approximately 1.4% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $5,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 198.3% during the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the first quarter worth $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth $33,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 51.6% during the second quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GILD shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.12.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $84.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,054,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,221,453. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.07 and a 52 week high of $87.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $79.06 and its 200-day moving average is $71.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $105.39 billion, a PE ratio of 234.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $6.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 3.79%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 855.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $2,459,529.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total value of $2,459,529.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,545,480.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total value of $167,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,189 shares in the company, valued at $8,398,843.87. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,847 shares of company stock worth $3,033,340 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Gilead Sciences

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.