Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Takes Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 33,417 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,222,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on GILD. Truist Financial cut their target price on Gilead Sciences from $157.00 to $156.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $170.00 to $167.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $146.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.36, for a total transaction of $415,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 165,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,918,780.56. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total value of $1,954,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 592,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,160,851.23. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 87,000 shares of company stock worth $11,562,960 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $146.12 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.55. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.46 and a 52-week high of $157.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $181.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -54.73 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. The business had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. 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 posted $2.01 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently -122.85%.

About Gilead Sciences

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.