Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Buys New Shares in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,714,130 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,334,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.14% of Gilead Sciences as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 122.7% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 460,936 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $42,577,000 after acquiring an additional 253,994 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 25,372 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,344,000 after purchasing an additional 3,627 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 9,791 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 142,167 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,132,000 after purchasing an additional 5,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1,222.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 6,068 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 5,609 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $105.51 on Wednesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $119.96. 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 firm has a market cap of $131.38 billion, a PE ratio of 285.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.82.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 854.05%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $266,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 168,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,893,713.60. The trade was a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,540,875. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.92.

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.