Vinva Investment Management Ltd Decreases Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 84,553 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 8,691 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $7,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GILD. State Street Corp lifted 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 purchasing an additional 841,776 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 50.9% in 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 79.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.1% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,002,779 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $739,217,000 after purchasing an additional 249,804 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total value of $2,118,669.93. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,977,938.37. This represents a 9.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD opened at $110.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $137.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 297.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.38. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released 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 return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 854.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.52.

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.