Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank decreased its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,517,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 180,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of Gilead Sciences worth $324,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 334.2% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 184,603 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,052,000 after buying an additional 142,089 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 96.8% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 981,192 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $90,633,000 after purchasing an additional 482,597 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 19,293 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,782,000 after buying an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,793,699 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $165,684,000 after acquiring an additional 12,746 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $11,863,898.55. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 311,285 shares of company stock valued at $31,284,910. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GILD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $113.99 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $119.96. The company has a market cap of $141.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 308.08, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $100.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.33.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.