VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Invests $69,000 in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 752 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 79.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,162,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,780,329,000 after buying an additional 14,680,161 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 50.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,900,921,000 after acquiring an additional 11,665,593 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 723.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,434,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $594,370,000 after acquiring an additional 5,653,075 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,340,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 350.1% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,305,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $193,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,793,145 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on GILD shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.52.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total transaction of $13,822,739.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,626,253.06. This trade represents a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $107.51 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $103.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.47. The stock has a market cap of $133.89 billion, a PE ratio of 290.57, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $119.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. As a group, analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a positive change 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 yield of 2.94%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 854.05%.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

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.