Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $1.54 Million Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,629 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,549 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GILD. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 325.0% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $114.43 on Wednesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $119.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $100.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.18. The company has a market capitalization of $142.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 309.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 854.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GILD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup initiated coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.52.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total transaction of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 293,356 shares of company stock valued at $29,166,240 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.