Kestra Investment Management LLC Buys 1,281 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 51.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,789 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bellevue Group AG raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 18.2% in the third quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 46,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,859,000 after acquiring an additional 7,093 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 149.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 81,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 48,910 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 25,372 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,344,000 after purchasing an additional 3,627 shares in the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the third quarter worth $830,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 387,492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,793,000 after buying an additional 9,791 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $815,198.80. This trade represents a 43.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 169,061 shares in the company, valued at $17,597,559.49. This represents a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 713,000 shares of company stock valued at $67,945,181 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $107.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 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 $107.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 290.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.70 and a 200-day moving average of $88.23.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.94 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 paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 832.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GILD shares. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of 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. Eleven investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.08.

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.