Banco Santander S.A. Sells 131,985 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Banco Santander S.A. trimmed its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 48.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 141,575 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 131,985 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $13,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,162,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,780,329,000 after purchasing an additional 14,680,161 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 50.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 723.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,434,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $594,370,000 after purchasing an additional 5,653,075 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $207,340,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 350.1% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,305,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $193,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,793,145 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total transaction of $13,822,739.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $12,626,253.06. This trade represents a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 293,356 shares of company stock worth $29,166,240 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on GILD shares. Maxim Group lowered shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.24.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $117.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $118.42. The company has a market capitalization of $146.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 317.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.39.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 854.05%.

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.