Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.79 Per Share

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.79 per share by the biopharmaceutical company on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a 2.6% increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77.

Gilead Sciences has raised its dividend by an average of 2.7% per year over the last three years. Gilead Sciences has a dividend payout ratio of 37.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Gilead Sciences to earn $8.11 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.0%.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $114.43 on Wednesday. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $119.96. 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 has a market cap of $142.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 309.27, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $100.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total transaction of $228,375.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 293,356 shares of company stock valued at $29,166,240. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Gilead Sciences stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 20.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective 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 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.52.

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.