Van Cleef Asset Management Inc Reduces Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc lessened its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,955 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 315 shares during the period. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Bellevue Group AG grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 18.2% in the third quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 46,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,859,000 after purchasing an additional 7,093 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 149.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 81,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,843,000 after buying an additional 48,910 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 25,372 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,344,000 after buying an additional 3,627 shares during the period. IRON Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the third quarter valued at approximately $830,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 387,492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,793,000 after acquiring an additional 9,791 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GILD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Eleven equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total transaction of $260,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 169,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,597,559.49. This represents a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 293,356 shares of company stock valued at $29,166,240 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ GILD opened at $111.99 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $112.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $96.98 and a 200 day moving average of $89.65. 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 company 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.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 2.82%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio 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.