Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Grows Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 325.0% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Eleven 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 4.6 %

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $107.25 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.07 and a 52 week high of $119.96. The firm has a market cap of $133.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 289.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $107.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 854.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total value of $2,118,669.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,977,938.37. The trade was a 9.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.