Sandy Spring Bank Sells 280 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Sandy Spring Bank reduced its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,875 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 280 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GILD shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.1 %

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $107.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $133.35 billion, a PE ratio of 289.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $119.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $103.68 and a 200 day moving average of $93.75.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 854.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total value of $13,822,739.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $12,626,253.06. This represents a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.