Maridea Wealth Management LLC Invests $496,000 in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Maridea Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 5,373 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GILD. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. DZ Bank raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven 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, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.12.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the company’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 value of $13,822,739.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $12,626,253.06. This 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 at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $111.79 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $105.48 and a 200-day moving average of $94.81. The company has a market cap of $139.22 billion, a PE ratio of 302.14, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued 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 return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend 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.