Fisher Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 18.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,606 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $782,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 3,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Bank boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 9,397 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on GILD. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total value of $260,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 169,061 shares in the company, valued at $17,597,559.49. This represents a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 293,356 shares of company stock worth $29,166,240 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.6 %

GILD opened at $115.44 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $98.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.91. The company has a market cap of $143.87 billion, a PE ratio of 312.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $117.39. 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 (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is 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%.

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.