Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Purchases New Shares in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 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. bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,393,785,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,617,152,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $918,387,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $517,808,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $398,905,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total transaction of $725,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,459,771.32. This represents a 33.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total transaction of $3,853,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 118,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,273,727.76. This represents a 19.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 87,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,562,960. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Maxim Group raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays decreased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their target price on Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. HSBC raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $155.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.04.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $146.12 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.46 and a 12 month high of $157.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.59. The company has a market cap of $181.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -54.73 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The business had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.51 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

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

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

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.