AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Purchases 5,989 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,138,269 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 5,989 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.09% of Gilead Sciences worth $105,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of GILD stock opened at $104.08 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $93.63 and a 200-day moving average of $87.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 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 $106.69. The company has a market capitalization of $129.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,156.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its 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 net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 854.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Maxim Group lowered shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.33.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 137,676 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.22, for a total value of $14,073,240.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 171,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,502,415.06. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 80,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,427,227.92. This trade represents a 67.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 710,500 shares of company stock valued at $67,684,956. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.