Arizona State Retirement System Purchases 2,550 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 359,743 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 2,550 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $33,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,171,691 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,044,795,000 after purchasing an additional 841,776 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 50.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,900,921,000 after buying an additional 11,665,593 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 79.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,162,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,780,329,000 after acquiring an additional 14,680,161 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,540,870 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,302,119,000 after acquiring an additional 574,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,002,779 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $739,217,000 after purchasing an additional 249,804 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $114.74 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $98.28 and its 200 day moving average is $90.74. 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 52 week low of $62.07 and a 52 week high of $117.39. The stock has a market cap of $143.00 billion, a PE ratio of 310.11, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

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 return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 854.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on GILD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Eleven equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.76.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 293,356 shares of company stock worth $29,166,240 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.