Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Sold by Lakeside Advisors INC.

Lakeside Advisors INC. decreased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,248 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 599 shares during the quarter. Gilead Sciences accounts for approximately 0.6% of Lakeside Advisors INC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Lakeside Advisors INC.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 101.9% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total value of $260,225.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,597,559.49. This represents a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 80,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,427,227.92. This trade represents a 67.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 713,000 shares of company stock worth $67,945,181. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $110.03 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $95.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.38. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $110.11. 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 has a market capitalization of $137.13 billion, a PE ratio of 297.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. Analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 832.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on GILD. DZ Bank raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Eleven investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.08.

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.