Lingohr Asset Management GmbH Invests $796,000 in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Lingohr Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,647 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $796,000. Gilead Sciences makes up 1.6% of Lingohr Asset Management GmbH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,162,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,780,329,000 after purchasing an additional 14,680,161 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,900,921,000 after acquiring an additional 11,665,593 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 723.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,434,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $594,370,000 after acquiring an additional 5,653,075 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,340,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 350.1% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,305,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $193,274,000 after acquiring an additional 1,793,145 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total transaction of $13,822,739.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,626,253.06. This trade represents a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GILD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $107.51 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.89 billion, a PE ratio of 290.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 854.05%.

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.