Sovran Advisors LLC Invests $506,000 in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,560 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $506,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 7.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $103.31 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $93.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $104.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.75 billion, a PE ratio of 1,147.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 3,422.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GILD. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 80,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,427,227.92. The trade was a 67.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $11,863,898.55. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 572,824 shares of company stock worth $53,611,715. 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.