Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $296.75 Million Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 24.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,212,654 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,048,709 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $296,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 134,964 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,315,000 after acquiring an additional 16,996 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 118.0% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 249,370 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $20,907,000 after acquiring an additional 134,993 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 32,135 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,694,000 after acquiring an additional 9,352 shares during the period. Acuta Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth $1,635,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 848,235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $71,116,000 after acquiring an additional 74,063 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $111.16 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $119.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $105.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.58. The firm has a market cap of $138.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 300.43, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 854.05%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 169,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,977,938.37. This represents a 9.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on GILD. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.12.

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.