State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 33,548 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

State of Michigan Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 338,295 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 33,548 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $31,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 45,818 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,232,000 after acquiring an additional 5,116 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,681 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $710,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,475 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026 shares during the period. Sage Rhino Capital LLC purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,709 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $115.99 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $117.16. The stock has a market cap of $144.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 313.49, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $97.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.45.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 854.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total value of $260,225.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,597,559.49. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 293,356 shares of company stock valued at $29,166,240 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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, Mizuho upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.08.

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.