First Horizon Advisors Inc. Boosts Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 291,278 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,591 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $26,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.8% in the third quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 3,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Bank raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.2% in the third quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 9,397 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total value of $15,094,275.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 80,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,427,227.92. This trade represents a 67.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total value of $260,225.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,597,559.49. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 713,000 shares of company stock worth $67,945,181. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $109.95 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.41 and its 200-day moving average is $88.73. The company has a market cap of $137.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 297.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.18. 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 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $111.03.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 832.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Daiwa America raised Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.08.

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.