Summit Global Investments Acquires New Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 51,080 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,718,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GILD. Southland Equity Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Bank lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,354 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 13,597 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,256,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total transaction of $2,118,669.93. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,977,938.37. This represents a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $107.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $133.35 billion, a PE ratio of 289.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $119.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $103.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.75.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. 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 yield of 2.95%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 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.