Great Lakes Advisors LLC Purchases 482,597 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 96.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 981,192 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 482,597 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $90,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $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 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 3,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Bank raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,354 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $114.43 on Wednesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $119.96. The stock has a market cap of $142.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 309.27, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $100.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. 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. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 854.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total transaction of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,863,898.55. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 293,356 shares of company stock valued at $29,166,240 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.52.

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.