Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Acquired by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,922 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 4,574 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $3,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.8% in the third quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 3,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% in the third quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 9,397 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ GILD opened at $109.95 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $111.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $137.03 billion, a PE ratio of 297.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.18. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $95.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.73.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is currently 832.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 80,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,427,227.92. This represents a 67.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 713,000 shares of company stock worth $67,945,181. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GILD shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. DZ Bank upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Gilead Sciences to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.08.

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.

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