Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,528,392 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 185,508 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.27% of Gilead Sciences worth $10,671,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,047,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $171,672,000 after buying an additional 189,622 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 163.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 5,211 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 6,321 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $530,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,137,381 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $95,358,000 after buying an additional 78,839 shares during the period. Finally, Concorde Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total transaction of $13,822,739.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $12,626,253.06. The trade was a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $107.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $103.68 and a 200-day moving average of $93.85. The firm has a market cap of $133.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 289.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $119.96. 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 (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 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 issued a $0.79 dividend. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 854.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.52.

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.