Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) CFO Andrew D. Dickinson Sells 2,500 Shares of Stock

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total value of $260,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares in the company, valued at $17,597,559.49. This represents a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of GILD stock opened at $107.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $134.16 billion, a PE ratio of 290.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $107.81. The company has a 50-day moving average of $94.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.23.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly 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%. On average, analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.94 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 832.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GILD has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,789,254,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,162,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,780,329,000 after purchasing an additional 14,680,161 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 11,665,593 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 723.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,434,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $594,370,000 after buying an additional 5,653,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,915,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,377,707,000 after buying an additional 2,458,954 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.