Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Sold by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,907 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 761 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $546,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $242,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $118,000. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 27,921 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,579,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,710 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $805,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 7.5 %

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $103.31 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $104.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.75 billion, a PE ratio of 1,147.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $93.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.12.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3,422.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on GILD. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.04.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 80,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,427,227.92. This trade represents a 67.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total value of $13,822,739.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,626,253.06. The trade was a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 572,824 shares of company stock valued at $53,611,715 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences 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.