Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Sells 36,080 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lessened its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 71.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,241 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 36,080 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GILD. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $117.41 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $99.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.62. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $118.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 317.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

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 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 854.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.24.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total transaction of $260,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,597,559.49. The trade was a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 293,356 shares of company stock valued at $29,166,240 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.