Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Invests $23.21 Million in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 183,684 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,207,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GILD. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 60.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GILD has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays cut their price target on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Gilead Sciences from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 27th. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.04.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.36, for a total value of $415,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 165,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,918,780.56. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total value 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. The trade was a 19.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 87,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,562,960 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.9%

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

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. The business had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

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

Gilead Sciences 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.