Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Stake Boosted by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,629 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,549 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in 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 in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on GILD. Daiwa America upgraded Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $114.43 on Wednesday. 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’s 50 day moving average is $100.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.18. The company has a market cap of $142.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 309.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 854.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 8,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.96, for a total transaction of $781,660.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 132,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,173,021.08. The trade was a 6.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 293,356 shares of company stock valued at $29,166,240 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.