Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Increases Dividend to $0.79 Per Share

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.79 per share by the biopharmaceutical company on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77.

Gilead Sciences has raised its dividend by an average of 2.7% annually over the last three years. Gilead Sciences has a payout ratio of 38.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Gilead Sciences to earn $7.60 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.5%.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD stock traded up $7.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $103.31. 15,880,050 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,309,862. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $104.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,147.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $93.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.12.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced 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 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. Analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total value of $15,094,275.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 80,801 shares in the company, valued at $7,427,227.92. This trade represents a 67.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 572,824 shares of company stock valued at $53,611,715 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.