United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 203,261 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 43,103 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $18,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted 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 valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank grew its stake 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 increased 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 purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GILD shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $105.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 137,676 shares of the firm's 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 owns 171,223 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,540,875 in the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock traded down $0.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $104.49. 8,066,368 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,507,197. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $119.96. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.63. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $130.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 282.40, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32.

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

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is 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.