Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY Decreases Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,338 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 18,324 shares during the period. Gilead Sciences accounts for about 1.6% of Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $15,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GILD. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $8,269,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth approximately $254,000. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 8.4% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 188,594 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,939,000 after buying an additional 14,544 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $461,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 35.1% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 15,678 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,075 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on GILD. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.96.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total value of $2,341,485.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 99,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,113,308.50. This trade represents a 20.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 456,234 shares of company stock worth $42,130,461 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD opened at $95.35 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $98.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.83 billion, a PE ratio of 1,059.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3,422.22%.

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.