Whittier Trust Co. Has $3.67 Million Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Whittier Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,773 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 745 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $3,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 244,195 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,556,000 after acquiring an additional 9,623 shares during the period. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $796,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 199,882 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $18,463,000 after buying an additional 24,815 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 442,579 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,881,000 after buying an additional 107,566 shares during the period. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GILD shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total transaction of $13,822,739.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $12,626,253.06. This trade represents a 52.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $105.87 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $131.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 286.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $119.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $103.33 and its 200-day moving average is $93.56.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Equities research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 854.05%.

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.