World Investment Advisors Sells 1,512 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

World Investment Advisors lowered its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,487 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,512 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $2,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total value of $2,118,669.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,977,938.37. This represents a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on GILD. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $107.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $133.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 289.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. 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 moving average of $107.30 and a 200-day moving average of $95.80. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 854.05%.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.