Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Sold by Knuff & Co LLC

Knuff & Co LLC decreased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,562 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 714 shares during the quarter. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GILD. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,793,699 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $165,684,000 after purchasing an additional 12,746 shares in the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at $460,000. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 3,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 58.6% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 10,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $926,000 after buying an additional 3,706 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total transaction of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,863,898.55. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 293,356 shares of company stock worth $29,166,240 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on GILD. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 2.4 %

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $114.43 on Wednesday. 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 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $119.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.50 billion, a PE ratio of 309.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 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.