Synovus Financial Corp Boosts Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 99.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,592 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $3,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,162,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,780,329,000 after purchasing an additional 14,680,161 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,900,921,000 after purchasing an additional 11,665,593 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 350.1% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,305,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $193,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,793,145 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 8,238.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,642,504 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $137,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622,806 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 24.7% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,889,663 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $541,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,792 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GILD shares. Maxim Group lowered Gilead Sciences from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.43.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $91.86. 7,515,462 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,068,425. The company has a market cap of $114.48 billion, a PE ratio of 1,020.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $98.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $89.96 and a 200 day moving average of $79.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.01 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is presently 3,422.22%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 80,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,427,227.92. The trade was a 67.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total transaction of $23,064,310.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 138,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,886,126.44. The trade was a 64.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 447,234 shares of company stock worth $41,288,086. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences 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.