Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Takes $7.82 Million Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 84,672 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,821,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. 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 purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Bank lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. CFO4Life Group LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,354 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GILD shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of 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. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of GILD stock opened at $109.27 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $136.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 295.32, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $119.96. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.46. 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 issued its 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 net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. Research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 854.05%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $19,977,938.37. This trade represents a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.