Alliancebernstein L.P. Acquires 50,434 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,047,846 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,434 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.57% of Gilead Sciences worth $651,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GILD. Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. CFO4Life Group LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,354 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD stock opened at $111.79 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $139.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 302.14, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.00. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced 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, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 854.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total transaction of $13,822,739.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,626,253.06. This represents a 52.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eleven 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.12.

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.