Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Insider Merdad Parsey Sells 6,126 Shares

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD – Get Rating) insider Merdad Parsey sold 6,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.99, for a total transaction of $483,892.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 70,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,539,568.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Merdad Parsey also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, March 1st, Merdad Parsey sold 12,984 shares of Gilead Sciences stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.96, for a total transaction of $1,038,200.64.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $79.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $99.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.28. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.17 and a 12-month high of $89.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.63 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 16.83% and a return on equity of 44.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 80.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 9.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 57,967 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,446,000 after purchasing an additional 4,877 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.9% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 448,409 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,660,000 after purchasing an additional 16,643 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 44.3% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 8,642 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,654 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 12.5% during the first quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 5,763 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the period. Finally, Ergoteles LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the first quarter worth about $2,304,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, December 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.40.

About Gilead Sciences

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Gilead Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company, which engages in the research, development, and commercialization of medicines in areas of unmet medical need. The firm’s primary areas of focus include human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, liver diseases, hematology, oncology, and inflammation and respiratory diseases.