Franklin Resources Inc. Has $270.59 Million Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 30.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,929,372 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 688,018 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Gilead Sciences worth $270,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GILD. Seven Mile Advisory bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at $246,000. Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 392.0% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 19,434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,795,000 after acquiring an additional 15,484 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 7,047,846 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $651,010,000 after acquiring an additional 50,434 shares during the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $351,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 214,606 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $19,823,000 after purchasing an additional 24,571 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on GILD. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total value of $13,822,739.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,626,253.06. This represents a 52.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ GILD opened at $111.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $138.58 billion, a PE ratio of 300.76, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $119.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $106.25 and a 200-day moving average of $95.40. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. On average, equities research 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 854.05%.

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.