Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $5.02 Million Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 47.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,300 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,439 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $5,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,162,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,780,329,000 after buying an additional 14,680,161 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 50.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,900,921,000 after acquiring an additional 11,665,593 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 723.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,434,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $594,370,000 after acquiring an additional 5,653,075 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 350.1% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,305,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $193,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,793,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 8,238.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,642,504 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622,806 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,863,898.55. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $815,198.80. This trade represents a 43.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 710,500 shares of company stock valued at $67,684,956. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $104.08 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $93.87 and its 200-day moving average is $87.70. The stock has a market cap of $129.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,156.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $106.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3,422.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GILD shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Daiwa America raised Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Mizuho increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.33.

Gilead Sciences 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.