Sterling Capital Management LLC Purchases 42,040 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 747.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,664 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,040 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $4,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of GILD stock opened at $103.63 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $119.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $108.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.79. The company has a market cap of $129.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 280.08, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. 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 (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 854.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total value of $2,118,669.93. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares in the company, valued at $19,977,938.37. The trade was a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GILD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.12.

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.