Fmr LLC Boosts Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

FMR LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 21.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 7,157,113 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned approximately 3.24% of Gilead Sciences worth $3,724,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 59.6% during the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 174,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $16,072,000 after acquiring an additional 65,000 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 999,329 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $92,273,000 after acquiring an additional 70,214 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $39,908,000. First Western Trust Bank lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 56,093 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,181,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the period. Finally, Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,553 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

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Gilead Sciences Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ GILD traded down $2.95 on Thursday, reaching $102.30. 7,458,154 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,461,123. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $119.96. The company has a market cap of $127.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 274.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $108.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is presently 854.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total value of $2,118,669.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GILD shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective 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. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.12.

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.