Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Sold by Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,367 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 205 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD opened at $111.79 on Monday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $119.96. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.22 billion, a PE ratio of 302.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.79 dividend. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 854.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total value of $13,822,739.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,626,253.06. This represents a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.