Whittier Trust Co. Has $3.67 Million Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Whittier Trust Co. lessened its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,773 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 745 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $3,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $105.87 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $119.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 286.14, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.56. 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 (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 yield of 2.98%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 854.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GILD shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DZ Bank raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.52.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.