KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 754,608 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $69,703,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned about 0.06% of Gilead Sciences at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during 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. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

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 transaction of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

GILD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ GILD traded up $1.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $109.27. The company had a trading volume of 7,391,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,810,706. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $119.96. The stock's 50 day moving average is $104.69 and its 200-day moving average is $94.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.08 billion, a PE ratio of 295.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

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

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 854.05%.

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.