Dodge & Cox Trims Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Dodge & Cox lowered its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,947,717 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 98,020 shares during the quarter. Gilead Sciences accounts for about 1.8% of Dodge & Cox's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Dodge & Cox owned 2.64% of Gilead Sciences worth $3,043,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 325.0% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $105.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,540,875. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $104.49. 8,066,368 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,519,796. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $109.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.45. The firm has a market cap of $130.10 billion, a PE ratio of 282.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $119.96.

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 (EPS) 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.