Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Stake Lessened by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 23.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,973,798 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 1,202,502 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.32% of Gilead Sciences worth $367,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. State Street Corp lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,171,691 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,044,795,000 after acquiring an additional 841,776 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,900,921,000 after buying an additional 11,665,593 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,540,870 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,302,119,000 after buying an additional 574,421 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,789,254,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $739,217,000 after acquiring an additional 249,804 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total value of $2,118,669.93. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares in the company, valued at $19,977,938.37. This trade represents a 9.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders 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 Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $111.28. 6,284,006 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,301,817. The firm has a market cap of $138.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 300.76, a PEG 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 $119.96. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $105.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.20. 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 (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase 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 equities research analysts have commented on GILD shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.