Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 2,244,670 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,340,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $11,863,898.55. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 293,356 shares of company stock valued at $29,166,240. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GILD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven investment 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.24.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $116.04 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $117.39. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 313.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.