Wells Fargo & Company MN Sells 377,656 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Wells Fargo & Company MN decreased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,814,812 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 377,656 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.55% of Gilead Sciences worth $629,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Western Trust Bank lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 56,093 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,181,000 after buying an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,553 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 158.8% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 352 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 6,845 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,909 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after buying an additional 1,125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total transaction of $2,118,669.93. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,977,938.37. This trade represents a 9.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $107.25 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $107.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.80. 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 company has a market capitalization of $133.54 billion, a PE ratio of 289.86, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. 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 data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 854.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on GILD shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.12.

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.