Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Acquired by Advisory Services Network LLC

Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 71,087 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,970 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $6,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ GILD opened at $103.19 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $107.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.31. 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 company has a market capitalization of $128.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 278.89, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 854.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GILD shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.12.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total transaction of $2,118,669.93. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,977,938.37. This trade represents a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.