DeDora Capital Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

DeDora Capital Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 29.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,171 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,002 shares during the period. DeDora Capital Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GILD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $1,301,624,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 78.8% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,632,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $618,268,000 after purchasing an additional 3,362,505 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 179.0% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,543,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $340,526,000 after purchasing an additional 2,915,141 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,630,134 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,509,227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 89.0% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 3,764,107 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $304,930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772,887 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total value of $145,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 96,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,026,339.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $64.78. 7,822,720 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,345,331. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.33 and a 52-week high of $87.86. The company has a market cap of $80.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 179.94, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.83.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.49) by $0.17. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 24.34% and a net margin of 1.76%. The company had revenue of $6.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 855.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GILD. HSBC upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $69.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Gilead Sciences from $76.00 to $74.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.69.

About Gilead Sciences

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.