Sit Investment Associates Inc. Sells 625 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. lowered its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,315 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 625 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,677,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 8.7% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 97,505 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,175,000 after acquiring an additional 7,801 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.0% in the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,096 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 13.7% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 53,951 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,523,000 after purchasing an additional 6,492 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 791.5% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 273,685 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,946,000 after purchasing an additional 242,985 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $107.25 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.98. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $119.96. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $133.54 billion, a PE ratio of 289.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 854.05%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total value of $13,822,739.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,626,253.06. The trade was a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.12.

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.