Ascent Group LLC Raises Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Ascent Group LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 26.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,108 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,435 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 325.0% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.82, for a total value of $249,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 165,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,537,578.68. This represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $3,010,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 121,152 shares in the company, valued at $13,026,263.04. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,929 shares of company stock valued at $5,644,780 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ GILD traded down $1.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $110.03. 2,175,354 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,701,289. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $105.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.67. The company has a market cap of $136.87 billion, a PE ratio of 297.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $119.96. 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 (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.32) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.55.

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.