Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Trims Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 29.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 54,832 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $11,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 492,155 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $45,460,000 after purchasing an additional 11,300 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 188,178 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $17,382,000 after buying an additional 1,942 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 404,817 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $37,393,000 after acquiring an additional 30,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simmons Bank increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 40,058 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,700,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 8,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.96, for a total transaction of $781,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 132,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,173,021.08. This trade represents a 6.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 293,356 shares of company stock worth $29,166,240. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. DZ Bank upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.08.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of GILD opened at $111.99 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $112.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 302.68, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $96.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 854.05%.

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.