Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Has $65.28 Million Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 706,765 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 170,217 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $65,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,095,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 80,889 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,375,000 after purchasing an additional 23,512 shares in the last quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 38,249 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,533,000 after purchasing an additional 6,782 shares in the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $573,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $69,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GILD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $107.51 on Thursday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $119.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 290.57, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. 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 (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. Research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 854.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total value of $13,822,739.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $12,626,253.06. This trade represents a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.