DnB Asset Management AS Increases Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 303,103 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,626 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $27,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction 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 owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $11,863,898.55. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GILD shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. DZ Bank raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.6 %

GILD stock opened at $111.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 302.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.07 and a 52 week high of $119.96. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.81. 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 (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. 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 currently 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.