Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Purchased by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 41.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 80,889 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,512 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $7,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $110.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.27 billion, a PE ratio of 297.92, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.38. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 854.05%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total value of $13,822,739.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $12,626,253.06. The trade was a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven investment 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.52.

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.