Wedbush Securities Inc. Sells 280 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Wedbush Securities Inc. decreased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,158 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 280 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 149.5% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 81,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,843,000 after buying an additional 48,910 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 25,372 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,344,000 after acquiring an additional 3,627 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 387,492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,793,000 after acquiring an additional 9,791 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 142,167 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,132,000 after acquiring an additional 5,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1,222.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 6,068 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 5,609 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer increased 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 4.6 %

GILD opened at $107.25 on Friday. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 289.86, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.89.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 854.05%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total transaction of $13,822,739.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,626,253.06. This trade represents a 52.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 in the last three months. 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.