Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Takes $1.94 Million Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 15,313 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,393,785,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,097,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $14,863,487,000 after buying an additional 2,113,692 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,240,518 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,393,921,000 after buying an additional 1,151,213 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 27,698,660 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,399,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,269 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 23,121,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,837,948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,046,688 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GILD shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. HSBC raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $155.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.04.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $146.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.46 and a 1 year high of $157.29. The firm has a market cap of $181.18 billion, a PE ratio of -54.73 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.59.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 firm earned $2.01 EPS. Analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total value of $3,853,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 118,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,273,727.76. This represents a 19.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total value of $1,954,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 592,133 shares in the company, valued at $77,160,851.23. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 87,000 shares of company stock worth $11,562,960 in the last three months. 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.