Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 85,554 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,179 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $7,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,171,691 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,044,795,000 after buying an additional 841,776 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 50.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,900,921,000 after purchasing an additional 11,665,593 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,162,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,780,329,000 after purchasing an additional 14,680,161 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,540,870 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,302,119,000 after purchasing an additional 574,421 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,752,975 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $650,009,000 after purchasing an additional 224,960 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.08.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total value of $23,064,310.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 138,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,886,126.44. This represents a 64.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 80,801 shares in the company, valued at $7,427,227.92. The trade was a 67.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 713,000 shares of company stock valued at $67,945,181 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 2.2 %

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $110.03 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $110.11. 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 firm has a market cap of $137.13 billion, a PE ratio of 297.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.38.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 832.43%.

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.