Soviero Asset Management LP Cuts Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Soviero Asset Management LP lessened its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Soviero Asset Management LP’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GILD. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 18,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,687,000 after buying an additional 2,229 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 19,707 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 5,635 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 89.2% during the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,052 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 11,726 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,411 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 8,406 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total transaction of $260,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,597,559.49. This represents a 1.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,429 shares of company stock valued at $2,894,445. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $102.50 on Monday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $119.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.84. The company has a market cap of $127.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 277.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.32) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.53%.

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.