Vestcor Inc Has $20.16 Million Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Vestcor Inc raised its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 218,251 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,894 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $20,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,171,691 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,044,795,000 after buying an additional 841,776 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 50.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,900,921,000 after buying an additional 11,665,593 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 79.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,162,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,780,329,000 after buying an additional 14,680,161 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,540,870 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,302,119,000 after buying an additional 574,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,002,779 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $739,217,000 after buying an additional 249,804 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,977,938.37. This represents a 9.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 311,285 shares of company stock worth $31,284,910 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $113.99 on Thursday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $119.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $100.99 and a 200-day moving average of $92.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $141.96 billion, a PE ratio of 308.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. This is a boost 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. DZ Bank upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.52.

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.