Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires New Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 92,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,651,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,393,785,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,617,152,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $918,387,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $517,808,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $398,905,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GILD. Wall Street Zen upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Maxim Group upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $170.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.04.

Insider Activity

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.36, for a total transaction of $415,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 165,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,918,780.56. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total value of $1,954,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 592,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,160,851.23. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 87,000 shares of company stock worth $11,562,960. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.9%

GILD stock opened at $146.12 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $131.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.27. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.46 and a fifty-two week high of $157.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -54.73 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The company had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is -122.85%.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.