Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Boosts Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Norges Bank bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth $1,789,254,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 50.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,900,921,000 after buying an additional 11,665,593 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 723.3% in the fourth 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 during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $207,340,000. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 148.4% in the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 1,817,880 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $167,209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085,987 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of Gilead Sciences 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,626,253.06. This trade represents a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Eleven investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 4.6 %

GILD stock opened at $107.25 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $119.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 289.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.80.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 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 paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a positive change 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 was Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 854.05%.

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.