Hancock Whitney Corp Decreases Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Hancock Whitney Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,268 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,904 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $4,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the fourth 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 bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 137,676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.22, for a total transaction of $14,073,240.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 171,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,502,415.06. This represents a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,540,875 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GILD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.50.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $106.15 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.07 and a 52 week 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 stock has a market cap of $132.17 billion, a PE ratio of 286.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $109.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.03.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.08. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. The company had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.32) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 854.05%.

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.