Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 56.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,861 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 3,572 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,171,691 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,044,795,000 after buying an additional 841,776 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,900,921,000 after purchasing an additional 11,665,593 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,162,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,780,329,000 after purchasing an additional 14,680,161 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,540,870 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,302,119,000 after purchasing an additional 574,421 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,752,975 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $650,009,000 after purchasing an additional 224,960 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other 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 value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 293,356 shares of company stock worth $29,166,240 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD opened at $115.99 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $144.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 313.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.45. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $117.16.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. As a group, analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 854.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GILD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.08.

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.