Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Acquires 1,835 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 286,343 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,835 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $26,450,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GILD. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 14.7% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 400,819 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,645,000 after buying an additional 51,390 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 10.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,047,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $171,672,000 after buying an additional 189,622 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 35.9% during the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,836 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 225.1% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 829 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.3% during the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 8,861 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $743,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,863,898.55. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 542,001 shares of company stock valued at $52,230,551. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GILD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.08.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD stock opened at $110.46 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.66 billion, a PE ratio of 298.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $112.11.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 854.05%.

Gilead Sciences 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.