Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC Acquires 228,428 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 3,757.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 234,507 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 228,428 shares during the period. Gilead Sciences accounts for about 1.8% of Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $21,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $188,000. LBP AM SA increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 212,835 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $19,660,000 after buying an additional 61,948 shares during the period. Integras Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $2,868,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $369,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $3,225,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.52.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,863,898.55. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 311,285 shares of company stock valued at $31,284,910. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $113.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $141.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 306.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $101.42 and its 200 day moving average is $92.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.79 per share. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.