Fred Alger Management LLC Grows Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,759 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 2,402 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $2,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GILD shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $96.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $120.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 261.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $107.23 and a 200 day moving average of $99.23. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.07 and a 52 week high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.04. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.32) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 66.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total value of $260,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,597,559.49. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 160,605 shares of company stock worth $16,718,136 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Gilead Sciences

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.