Heritage Trust Co Invests $3.76 Million in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Heritage Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 40,679 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $3,758,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX now owns 3,976 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 83,013 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,668,000 after buying an additional 16,603 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 638,979 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $59,022,000 after acquiring an additional 6,980 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $295,000. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 162,749 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $15,033,000 after acquiring an additional 14,125 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 1.1 %

NASDAQ:GILD traded down $1.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $105.34. The stock had a trading volume of 3,557,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,481,302. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $119.96. The company has a market cap of $131.17 billion, a PE ratio of 284.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.05.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. Analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. 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 854.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total transaction of $2,118,669.93. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,977,938.37. This represents a 9.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on GILD. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.