California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,087,177 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,589 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.49% of Gilead Sciences worth $562,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $111.79 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $105.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $139.22 billion, a PE ratio of 302.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 854.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GILD. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.12.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 $11,863,898.55. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.