ZEGA Investments LLC Invests $563,000 in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

ZEGA Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,047 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $563,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $4,718,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,185 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $238,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 244,195 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $22,556,000 after buying an additional 9,623 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of GILD stock traded up $1.38 on Wednesday, hitting $109.27. The stock had a trading volume of 7,391,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,804,936. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $119.96. The stock has a market cap of $136.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 295.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The business has a 50 day moving average of $104.35 and a 200 day moving average of $94.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Remove Ads

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, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is presently 854.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on GILD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven 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 MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $104.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,863,898.55. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.