Meeder Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 214,606 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 24,571 shares during the quarter. Gilead Sciences comprises about 1.4% of Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $19,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $1,789,254,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 50.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 11,665,593 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 723.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,434,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $594,370,000 after buying an additional 5,653,075 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,340,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 350.1% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,305,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $193,274,000 after buying an additional 1,793,145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $111.79 on Monday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $119.96. The company has a 50-day moving average of $105.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.00. 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 $139.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 302.14, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 854.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.12.

About Gilead Sciences

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.