Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Trims Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lowered its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 95.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 139,606 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 2,857,063 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $12,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,540,870 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,302,119,000 after purchasing an additional 574,421 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,789,254,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,002,779 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $739,217,000 after acquiring an additional 249,804 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 723.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,434,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $594,370,000 after acquiring an additional 5,653,075 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,250,202 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $300,221,000 after acquiring an additional 442,559 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the company's 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 owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $12,626,253.06. This represents a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 2.0 %

Gilead Sciences stock traded up $2.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,218,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,458,747. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $119.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 284.46, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $108.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.52.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is currently 854.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GILD shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.12.

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.