Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 22.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,241,354 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 416,379 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of Gilead Sciences worth $190,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 24,920 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,710,000 after buying an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 280.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 3,473 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 133.6% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 619 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,302,754 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $157,992,000 after buying an additional 271,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.5% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 355,953 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $24,422,000 after acquiring an additional 8,529 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.3 %

GILD traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $91.86. 7,515,462 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,068,425. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business's 50 day moving average is $89.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.55. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $98.90. The stock has a market cap of $114.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,020.61, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.01 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GILD shares. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Daiwa America raised shares of Gilead Sciences to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.43.

Insider Activity

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,920 shares in the company, valued at $815,198.80. This trade represents a 43.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total transaction of $167,660.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,398,843.87. This represents a 1.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 447,234 shares of company stock worth $41,288,086 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.