Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Purchased by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 199,882 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 24,815 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $18,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 442,579 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,881,000 after acquiring an additional 107,566 shares during the period. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $211,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $1,095,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 80,889 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,375,000 after acquiring an additional 23,512 shares during the period. Finally, Koss Olinger Consulting LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 38,249 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,533,000 after buying an additional 6,782 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $11,863,898.55. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $107.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $103.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.47. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $119.96. The company has a market capitalization of $133.89 billion, a PE ratio of 290.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 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%. Analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. 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 2.94%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 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.