Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Sold by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lessened its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 27.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,595 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 30,906 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $7,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GILD. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the fourth 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 purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% in 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. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total value of $2,118,669.93. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,977,938.37. This trade represents a 9.59 % 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 three months, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $112.05 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $139.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 302.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $105.88 and a 200 day moving average of $95.20. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 854.05%.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.