K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc Takes Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 7,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $621,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GILD. Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 8.1% in the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 4,388 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.1% in the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,975 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 9.2% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 6.8% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 6,623 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wendell David Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.5% in the third quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. now owns 14,585 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $65.42. 12,382,425 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,443,315. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $71.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.25. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.63 and a 52-week high of $87.86. The company has a market cap of $81.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 181.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.49) by $0.17. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The firm had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 855.56%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $7,026,339.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GILD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $76.00 to $74.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.87.

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.