AIA Group Ltd Buys 9,664 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 183.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,933 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,664 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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 boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total value of $13,822,739.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,626,253.06. The trade was a 52.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD opened at $112.05 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $105.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.54 billion, a PE ratio of 302.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.07 and a 52 week high of $119.96.

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

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 854.05%.

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.