Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Sold by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp lowered its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,038 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 733 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 223.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 349 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $65.75. 506,683 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,184,907. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.33 and a twelve month high of $87.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 182.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.64.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.49) by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.36 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 24.34% and a net margin of 1.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.68%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 855.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on GILD. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $76.00 to $74.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, April 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total transaction of $145,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,026,339.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.