Kovack Advisors Inc. Sells 1,318 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Kovack Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,795 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,318 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GILD. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 101.9% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 8,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.96, for a total transaction of $781,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 132,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,173,021.08. The trade was a 6.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 293,356 shares of company stock valued at $29,166,240 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GILD shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.08.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $111.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $139.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 302.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $112.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $96.98 and its 200-day moving average is $89.65.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 854.05%.

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.