Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,160 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,685 shares during the quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Southland Equity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Berkshire Bank raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,354 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $111.79 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $119.96. The company has a market cap of $139.22 billion, a PE ratio of 302.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $105.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.90. 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 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%. Analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 854.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total value of $13,822,739.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,626,253.06. This trade represents a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.