Madison Investment Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GILD. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Daiwa America upgraded Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total transaction of $228,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 311,285 shares of company stock worth $31,284,910 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $111.44 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $101.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.71. The company has a market capitalization of $138.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 301.19, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts forecast 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 issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 854.05%.

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.