United Asset Strategies Inc. Sells 2,578 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

United Asset Strategies Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,523 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,578 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $3,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 223.1% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 349 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the third quarter worth $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $67.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,731,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,300,529. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $72.61 and a 200 day moving average of $76.78. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.18 and a 12-month high of $87.86. The stock has a market cap of $84.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.19.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.04). Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 38.85%. The company had revenue of $7.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.44%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total value of $145,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 96,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,026,339.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GILD. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $91.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com raised Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.36.

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.