1,130,256 Shares in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Purchased by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,130,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $104,402,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.09% of Gilead Sciences as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GILD. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 460,936 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $42,577,000 after purchasing an additional 253,994 shares in the last quarter. McAdam LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 25,372 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,344,000 after buying an additional 3,627 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 284,243 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,750,000 after buying an additional 14,009 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 142,167 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $13,132,000 after buying an additional 5,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 80.4% during the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 10,587 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 4,718 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GILD. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America upped their target price 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, DZ Bank upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $110.35. The company had a trading volume of 11,912,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,741,965. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 298.24, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $105.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.78. 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 one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. The company had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.32) EPS. The company's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is currently 66.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $3,010,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,026,263.04. This represents a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $266,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 168,174 shares in the company, valued at $17,893,713.60. The trade was a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,929 shares of company stock worth $5,644,780 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.