Meeder Asset Management Inc. Acquires 72,283 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 96.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 147,591 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,283 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $10,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth approximately $25,328,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 317,539 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,724,000 after acquiring an additional 60,697 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the first quarter worth approximately $462,000. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 751.1% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 127,258 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,322,000 after acquiring an additional 112,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 329,990 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,733,000 after purchasing an additional 31,849 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on GILD. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Raymond James raised Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Evercore ISI raised Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.06.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total value of $406,150.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,506,146.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $137,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,614,559.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total value of $406,150.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,506,146.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $83.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.80. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $87.86. The company has a market capitalization of $103.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 231.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 3.79%. The business had revenue of $6.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. On average, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 855.56%.

Gilead Sciences Profile

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.