Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Sold by Sit Investment Associates Inc.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,315 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 625 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McAdam LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 25,372 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,344,000 after purchasing an additional 3,627 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 387,492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,793,000 after buying an additional 9,791 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 142,167 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,132,000 after buying an additional 5,382 shares in the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1,222.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 6,068 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 5,609 shares during the period. Finally, Exome Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,192,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total transaction of $2,118,669.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 169,061 shares in the company, valued at $19,977,938.37. This represents a 9.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $107.25 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.54 billion, a PE ratio of 289.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $119.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $107.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.98.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly 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 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 854.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.