Capital Research Global Investors Cuts Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Capital Research Global Investors cut its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,946,228 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 3,853,443 shares during the quarter. Gilead Sciences makes up approximately 1.1% of Capital Research Global Investors' holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 4.65% of Gilead Sciences worth $5,352,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GILD. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,789,254,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,724,306,000 after purchasing an additional 7,157,113 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,653,075 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $207,340,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,277,915 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,041,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,399 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 137,676 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.22, for a total transaction of $14,073,240.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 171,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,502,415.06. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,540,875. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.92.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.2 %

GILD stock traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.75. 3,860,128 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,497,675. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $119.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.68 billion, a PE ratio of 285.81, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $109.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.82.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 854.05%.

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.