Truist Financial Corp Sells 17,375 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Truist Financial Corp cut its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 369,735 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 17,375 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $34,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bellevue Group AG increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 46,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,859,000 after purchasing an additional 7,093 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 149.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 81,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 48,910 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 25,372 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,344,000 after purchasing an additional 3,627 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth about $830,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 387,492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $35,793,000 after buying an additional 9,791 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GILD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Maxim Group downgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $815,198.80. This trade represents a 43.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total transaction of $260,225.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,597,559.49. The trade was a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 713,000 shares of company stock valued at $67,945,181. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $109.95. 9,729,048 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,379,648. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.73. The company has a market capitalization of $137.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 297.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $111.03. 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 (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released 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, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 832.43%.

About Gilead Sciences

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.