Westpac Banking Corp Raises Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Westpac Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,298 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,449 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $7,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total transaction 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 represents a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD opened at $111.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 302.41, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $106.63 and a 200 day moving average of $95.52.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued 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 return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. As a group, sell-side 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 issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 854.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on GILD shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.12.

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.