Seizert Capital Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Seizert Capital Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 47,201 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,063 shares during the quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $4,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,171,691 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,044,795,000 after purchasing an additional 841,776 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,900,921,000 after buying an additional 11,665,593 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,162,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,780,329,000 after acquiring an additional 14,680,161 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,540,870 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,302,119,000 after acquiring an additional 574,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,002,779 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $739,217,000 after acquiring an additional 249,804 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $114.74 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $98.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.74. The company has a market capitalization of $143.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 310.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $117.39.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 854.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.76.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 293,356 shares of company stock worth $29,166,240 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.