Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 29.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 129,340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 54,832 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $11,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 492,155 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $45,460,000 after purchasing an additional 11,300 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 188,178 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,942 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 404,817 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,393,000 after acquiring an additional 30,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simmons Bank boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 40,058 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,700,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GILD. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Maxim Group downgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.08.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ GILD opened at $111.99 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $96.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.65. The firm has a market cap of $139.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 302.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $112.57. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date 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 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total transaction of $228,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 293,356 shares of company stock worth $29,166,240 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.