Bank of Nova Scotia Raises Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 773,847 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,233 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.06% of Gilead Sciences worth $71,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total transaction of $13,822,739.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,626,253.06. This trade represents a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 note on Thursday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD traded up $2.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $103.63. 8,683,683 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,501,106. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $108.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.04 billion, a PE ratio of 280.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.