Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,911,231 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 2,292,331 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.80% of Gilead Sciences worth $915,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Bank increased its position 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 valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. CFO4Life Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $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.

Remove Ads

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Gilead Sciences stock traded down $2.65 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $102.60. 8,066,916 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,462,751. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.75 billion, a PE ratio of 277.11, 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. The business's 50-day moving average is $108.17 and its 200-day moving average is $96.52. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $119.96.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 is an increase from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is 854.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total value of $13,822,739.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,626,253.06. This represents a 52.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.12.

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.