Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Sold by River Global Investors LLP

River Global Investors LLP reduced its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 45.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,535 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 7,892 shares during the period. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,597,559.49. This represents a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 293,356 shares of company stock valued at $29,166,240. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on GILD. Maxim Group cut Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.24.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $117.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $146.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 317.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $118.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $99.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.39.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. Research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 854.05%.

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.