Belpointe Asset Management LLC Buys 4,433 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 108.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,527 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 4,433 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Bank increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $105.68 on Wednesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $119.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 285.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s 50-day moving average is $108.63 and its 200 day moving average is $97.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.79 dividend. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 854.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total value of $13,822,739.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $12,626,253.06. This trade represents a 52.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 300,285 shares of company stock worth $30,274,875. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Gilead Sciences

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.