Andrew D. Dickinson Sells 17,929 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total value of $2,118,669.93. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,977,938.37. This trade represents a 9.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $113.99 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $119.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.33. The company has a market cap of $141.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 308.08, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

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 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, equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.79 dividend. This is a positive change 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 2.77%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 854.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wolfe Research began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank raised 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 assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.52.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,171,691 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,044,795,000 after purchasing an additional 841,776 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,724,306,000 after purchasing an additional 7,157,113 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,659,007 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,293,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,331 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,289,917 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,608,337,000 after purchasing an additional 749,047 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $1,789,254,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% 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.