Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $281.87 Million Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,051,567 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 489,955 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $281,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 10,463 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $217,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,002,779 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $739,217,000 after purchasing an additional 249,804 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.96, for a total value of $781,660.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 132,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,173,021.08. This represents a 6.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 293,356 shares of company stock worth $29,166,240. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $114.74 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $98.28 and its 200 day moving average is $90.74. The firm has a market cap of $143.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 310.11, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $117.39.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced 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 return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 854.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Daiwa America raised Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.76.

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.