Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 66.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,411,679 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 563,444 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.11% of Gilead Sciences worth $130,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bellevue Group AG increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 46,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,859,000 after buying an additional 7,093 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 149.5% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 81,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,843,000 after acquiring an additional 48,910 shares in the last quarter. McAdam LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 25,372 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,344,000 after purchasing an additional 3,627 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 387,492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $35,793,000 after purchasing an additional 9,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 142,167 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $13,132,000 after purchasing an additional 5,382 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Gilead Sciences Trading Down 1.7 %
Shares of GILD traded down $1.95 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $115.26. 7,286,625 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,155,031. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.07 and a 52 week high of $119.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.54 billion, a PE ratio of 311.28, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. On average, analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 is a positive change from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is currently 854.05%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total transaction of $228,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 293,356 shares of company stock worth $29,166,240. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have recently commented on GILD. Wolfe Research started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $104.52.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on GILD
Gilead Sciences Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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