Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 45,470 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 981,253 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 45,470 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.08% of Gilead Sciences worth $90,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $11,863,898.55. The trade was 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 available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.3 %

GILD stock opened at $106.74 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $104.01 and a 200 day moving average of $94.15. The firm has a market cap of $132.93 billion, a PE ratio of 288.49, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 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, 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on GILD shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.