Empowered Funds LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Empowered Funds LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 42.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 140,922 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 103,596 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $11,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. TFB Advisors LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 9,397 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 17,822 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 5,365 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,035 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD traded down $1.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.69. 1,113,246 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,054,250. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $98.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.69. The stock has a market cap of $113.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,023.44, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.17.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3,422.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GILD. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI raised Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total transaction of $167,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,398,843.87. The trade was a 1.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the company’s 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 trade represents a 27.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,947 shares of company stock worth $4,968,674 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% 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.