Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,615,903 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 27,873 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.13% of Gilead Sciences worth $149,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Bank lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,354 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 13,597 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,256,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of GILD opened at $106.74 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $119.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $104.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $132.93 billion, a PE ratio of 288.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released 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 return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 854.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on GILD shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $12,626,253.06. The trade was a 52.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is 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.