B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Sells 30,906 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lowered its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 27.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,595 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 30,906 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $7,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GILD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $1,789,254,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,900,921,000 after purchasing an additional 11,665,593 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 723.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,434,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $594,370,000 after purchasing an additional 5,653,075 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $207,340,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 350.1% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,305,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $193,274,000 after buying an additional 1,793,145 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GILD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $112.05 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $119.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $105.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.20. 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 $139.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 302.84, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 854.05%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $12,626,253.06. This represents a 52.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.