Bell Bank Raises Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Bell Bank raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 118,187 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,546 shares during the quarter. Gilead Sciences accounts for 0.8% of Bell Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Bell Bank’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $10,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GILD. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 101.9% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GILD shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Daiwa America raised shares of Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.08.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,863,898.55. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total value of $620,355.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $815,198.80. This represents a 43.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 713,000 shares of company stock worth $67,945,181. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $109.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $137.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 297.16, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.63. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $111.03.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. 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 presently 832.43%.

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.