Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Decreases Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lowered its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 19.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,896 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,147 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockland Trust Co. raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 16.7% in the first quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 178,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,106,000 after buying an additional 25,551 shares during the last quarter. Linscomb & Williams Inc. increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.0% in the first quarter. Linscomb & Williams Inc. now owns 5,275 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the first quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7.7% in the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 40,168 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,728,000 after buying an additional 2,889 shares during the period. Finally, Hollencrest Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 119.8% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Securities LLC now owns 7,723 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 4,210 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.02% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) opened at 72.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.08 billion, a PE ratio of 7.91 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $72.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.75. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.76 and a 52-week high of $82.10.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.45. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 42.90% and a return on equity of 66.07%. The firm had revenue of $7.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post $8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.58%.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GILD. Jefferies Group LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Vetr cut Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $74.88 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 25th. Maxim Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. BidaskClub cut Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “hold” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (up from $75.00) on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.31.

In other Gilead Sciences news, EVP Gregg H. Alton sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total value of $355,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,988 shares in the company, valued at $7,318,327.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregg H. Alton sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $2,960,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 137,488 shares in the company, valued at $10,174,112. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 206,666 shares of company stock worth $15,223,184 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc is a research-based biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines in areas of unmet medical need. The Company’s portfolio of products and pipeline of investigational drugs includes treatments for Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS), liver diseases, cancer, inflammatory and respiratory diseases and cardiovascular conditions.