United Asset Strategies Inc. Lowers Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

United Asset Strategies Inc. cut its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,790 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 588 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $2,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth $1,546,000. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,004 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,675 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at about $290,000. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GILD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.96.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total transaction of $228,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $815,198.80. This trade represents a 43.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 456,234 shares of company stock worth $42,130,461 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $93.07 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $115.99 billion, a PE ratio of 1,034.11, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $91.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.09. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $98.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.01 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 3,422.22%.

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.