Westpac Banking Corp Purchases 1,449 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,298 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,449 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $7,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,789,254,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 50.9% in the third 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 last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 723.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,340,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 350.1% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,863,898.55. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. DZ Bank raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $111.89 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.32 billion, a PE ratio of 302.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 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 anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 854.05%.

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.