Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,780 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GILD. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the 4th 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 period. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total transaction of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 311,285 shares of company stock valued at $31,284,910. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GILD shares. DZ Bank upgraded 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. 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, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 1.7 %

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $111.44 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $119.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $101.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.82. 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 capitalization of $138.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 301.19, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 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.