AlphaCentric Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

AlphaCentric Advisors LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 201.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,562 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,062 shares during the quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 3,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 9,397 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD opened at $104.08 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $129.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,156.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $106.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $93.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3,422.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GILD shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Daiwa America raised shares of Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total value of $620,355.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $815,198.80. This trade represents a 43.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total transaction of $23,064,310.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 138,919 shares in the company, valued at $12,886,126.44. The trade was a 64.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 710,500 shares of company stock worth $67,684,956. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.