Howe & Rusling Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 205,829 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $19,012,000 after acquiring an additional 53,891 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 79.2% in the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 410,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $37,933,000 after buying an additional 181,510 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $362,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,056,190 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $187,956,000 after buying an additional 166,474 shares during the period. Finally, United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $249,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total value 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 trade represents a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $111.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 300.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $105.08 and a 200 day moving average of $94.58. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 854.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DZ Bank raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.12.

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.