Northern Financial Advisors Inc Acquires Shares of 3,962 Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,962 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Avestar Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 8,297 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 1,362 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 673 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 9,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $847,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 8,395 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $775,000 after acquiring an additional 2,574 shares during the period. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,870 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 137,676 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.22, for a total transaction of $14,073,240.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 171,223 shares in the company, valued at $17,502,415.06. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 80,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,427,227.92. This represents a 67.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 710,500 shares of company stock worth $67,684,956 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of GILD opened at $105.96 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $132.05 billion, a PE ratio of 1,177.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $106.43.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3,422.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GILD shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.33.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.