Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 11,940 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,103,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $1,789,254,000. FMR LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,724,306,000 after acquiring an additional 7,157,113 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 723.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,434,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $594,370,000 after acquiring an additional 5,653,075 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,340,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,277,915 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,041,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,399 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on GILD shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.12.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $12,626,253.06. This trade represents a 52.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD opened at $103.63 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 280.08, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $108.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.89. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its 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%. Equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 854.05%.

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.