Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Sold by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Empower Advisory Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,144 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,392 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 101.9% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total value of $15,094,275.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 80,801 shares in the company, valued at $7,427,227.92. The trade was a 67.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $11,863,898.55. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 713,000 shares of company stock worth $67,945,181 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GILD shares. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.08.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $107.65 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $134.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 290.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $107.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.23.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.94 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 832.43%.

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.