United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lowered its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 203,261 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 43,103 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $18,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,724,306,000 after buying an additional 7,157,113 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,659,007 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,293,822,000 after buying an additional 1,058,331 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,289,917 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,608,337,000 after purchasing an additional 749,047 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,789,254,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,277,915 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,041,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,399 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $105.68 on Wednesday. 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 $131.59 billion, a PE ratio of 285.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $119.96. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $108.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.11.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released 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 net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. On average, analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 854.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 300,285 shares of company stock valued at $30,274,875. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GILD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.12.

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.