Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Boosts Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,743 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 209 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GILD. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $117.41 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.61 and a 200-day moving average of $91.50. 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 company has a market capitalization of $146.22 billion, a PE ratio of 317.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $118.42.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 854.05%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 8,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 132,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,173,021.08. This trade represents a 6.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 293,356 shares of company stock valued at $29,166,240. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GILD shares. Bank of America increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. DZ Bank raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.24.

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.