ING Groep NV Sells 133,302 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

ING Groep NV lowered its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 33.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 259,383 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 133,302 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $23,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the third quarter worth $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 101.9% in the third 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of GILD opened at $110.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $137.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 297.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $110.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

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

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 832.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GILD shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Daiwa America raised shares of Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday. Eleven research 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, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total transaction of $260,225.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,597,559.49. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 8,920 shares in the company, valued at $815,198.80. This trade represents a 43.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 713,000 shares of company stock valued at $67,945,181 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.