Alberta Investment Management Corp Sells 151,193 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Alberta Investment Management Corp lessened its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 750,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 151,193 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned about 0.06% of Gilead Sciences worth $69,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the 4th 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. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GILD shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Daiwa America raised Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.08.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total value of $620,355.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,920 shares in the company, valued at $815,198.80. This represents a 43.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total value of $23,064,310.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 138,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,886,126.44. The trade was a 64.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 710,500 shares of company stock worth $67,684,956. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $105.25 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.39 and a 200-day moving average of $88.09. The company has a market capitalization of $131.17 billion, a PE ratio of 284.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.18. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $106.69.

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 net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. On average, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. 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 3.00%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 832.43%.

Gilead Sciences 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.