Qtron Investments LLC Raises Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Qtron Investments LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 106.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,594 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,459 shares during the period. Qtron Investments LLC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 137,676 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.22, for a total value of $14,073,240.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 171,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,502,415.06. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 300,285 shares of company stock worth $30,274,875 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GILD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Gilead Sciences stock traded down $0.80 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $104.88. 7,115,807 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,494,393. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $119.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $108.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 283.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32.

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

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. 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%.

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.