New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 51,414 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,137,443 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 51,414 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Gilead Sciences worth $105,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the third quarter worth about $25,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 101.9% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $105.96 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $106.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,177.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $93.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced 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 return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3,422.22%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $815,198.80. This trade represents a 43.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total value of $15,094,275.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 80,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,427,227.92. This trade represents a 67.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 710,500 shares of company stock valued at $67,684,956 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Maxim Group cut Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.33.

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.