Meridian Wealth Management LLC Buys New Shares in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 42,449 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,559,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GILD. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1,281.3% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,684 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after buying an additional 18,259 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the third quarter valued at $208,000. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.9% in the third quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,183 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 45,519 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,816,000 after buying an additional 1,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concorde Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the third quarter valued at $211,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $90.19 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $98.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $87.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.40 billion, a PE ratio of 1,002.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.01 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3,422.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Leerink Partners upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.41.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $2,459,529.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at $6,545,480.06. The trade was a 27.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total value of $167,660.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,398,843.87. This represents a 1.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,947 shares of company stock valued at $4,968,674 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.