Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 674 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,412 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 674 shares during the quarter. Gilead Sciences comprises 0.6% of Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,789,254,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 50.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,900,921,000 after buying an additional 11,665,593 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 723.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,434,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $594,370,000 after acquiring an additional 5,653,075 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $207,340,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 350.1% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,305,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $193,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,793,145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD stock opened at $111.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company’s 50-day moving average is $105.48 and its 200-day moving average is $94.81. The stock has a market capitalization 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. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 854.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,626,253.06. This trade represents a 52.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.