Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Decreases Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC trimmed its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,780 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 760 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bellevue Group AG boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 18.2% in the third quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 46,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,859,000 after acquiring an additional 7,093 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 149.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 81,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 48,910 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,414,268 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $851,743,000 after buying an additional 93,068 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the third quarter worth approximately $830,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 387,492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,793,000 after buying an additional 9,791 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.1 %

GILD stock opened at $92.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $115.80 billion, a PE ratio of 1,032.44, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $98.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The firm had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3,422.22%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total value of $2,341,485.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,113,308.50. This represents a 20.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total value of $620,355.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $815,198.80. This trade represents a 43.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 456,234 shares of company stock worth $42,130,461 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partnrs raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Maxim Group downgraded Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.96.

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.