Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Sold by Freestone Capital Holdings LLC

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lowered its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,518 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,476 shares during the quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,585 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,445,000. Inceptionr LLC raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 17,143 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,583,000 after purchasing an additional 4,192 shares in the last quarter. Straight Path Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $435,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $207,340,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.5 %

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $116.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.62 billion, a PE ratio of 313.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $117.39.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 854.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eleven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.24.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total transaction of $260,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,597,559.49. This represents a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 293,356 shares of company stock valued at $29,166,240 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences 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.