2,569 Shares in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Acquired by SlateStone Wealth LLC

SlateStone Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,569 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,047,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $171,672,000 after purchasing an additional 189,622 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 169,363 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $14,199,000 after purchasing an additional 25,912 shares in the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 8,555 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 658.5% in the 3rd quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 43,606 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,656,000 after purchasing an additional 37,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at $479,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven equities 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. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD stock opened at $112.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $102.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.16. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $119.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $139.80 billion, a PE ratio of 303.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued 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 return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company 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 is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 854.05%.

Insider Activity

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,863,898.55. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.