Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 1,000,775 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 45.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,186,671 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,000,775 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.10% of Gilead Sciences worth $109,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PDS Planning Inc increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,670 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Haven Capital Group Inc. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $427,000. Argent Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 11,345 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 2,764 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 22,062 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,038,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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 on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total value of $2,118,669.93. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,977,938.37. This represents a 9.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD opened at $112.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.80 billion, a PE ratio of 303.41, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $119.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $102.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. 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 payout ratio is presently 854.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on GILD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences 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.