Argent Advisors Inc. Acquires 142 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Argent Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,345 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the quarter. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $782,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Bank increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,354 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.7 %

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $112.26 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $102.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.16. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $119.96. 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 stock has a market cap of $139.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 303.41, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

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

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 854.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GILD has been the subject of several research reports. 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 research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.52.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total value of $2,118,669.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,977,938.37. This trade represents a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.