Kovack Advisors Inc. Sells 1,318 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Kovack Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,795 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,318 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 161 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value 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. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 293,356 shares of company stock valued at $29,166,240. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $111.99 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.65. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $112.57. The firm has a market cap of $139.57 billion, a PE ratio of 302.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 854.05%.

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.