Dearborn Partners LLC Takes $9.74 Million Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 69,875 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,738,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 1,156,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $141,978,000 after buying an additional 59,782 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $1,418,000. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at $100,056,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 105,740 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,978,000 after acquiring an additional 42,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 106,526 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,075,000 after acquiring an additional 13,385 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. HSBC upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Maxim Group raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.04.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $146.74 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.46 and a fifty-two week high of $157.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $181.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -54.96 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. The business had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total value of $725,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,459,771.32. This trade represents a 33.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.36, for a total transaction of $415,080.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 165,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,918,780.56. This represents a 1.78% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 87,000 shares of company stock worth $11,562,960. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About Gilead Sciences

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.