Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 51,453 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 590,156 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,453 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $54,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 101.9% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $107.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 290.95, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $107.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $94.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.23.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its 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 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.79 dividend. 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 2.94%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 832.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday. Eleven equities research 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.08.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total transaction of $260,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares in the company, valued at $17,597,559.49. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,920 shares in the company, valued at $815,198.80. This represents a 43.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 713,000 shares of company stock valued at $67,945,181 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.