Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Buys 322 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA increased 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 in the last quarter. Berkshire Bank increased 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,354 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GILD. Wolfe Research began 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 for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eleven research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD opened at $113.99 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $100.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.33. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $119.96. The company has a market cap of $141.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 308.08, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 854.05%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 132,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,173,021.08. This represents a 6.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 311,285 shares of company stock worth $31,284,910 over the last quarter. 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.