Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $37 Million Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 400,581 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 43,565 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $37,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 270,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $24,960,000 after purchasing an additional 16,598 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 124.7% in the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,766 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $717,000 after buying an additional 4,310 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 515.2% in the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 1,052 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 147,452 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $13,620,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 387,492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $35,793,000 after buying an additional 9,791 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock traded up $2.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $102.50. 6,395,303 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,661,033. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $119.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $105.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 277.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26.

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

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total transaction of $2,118,669.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,977,938.37. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 25,429 shares of company stock valued at $2,894,445 over the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.