Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Stake Lessened by HUB Investment Partners LLC

HUB Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 64.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,636 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,682 shares during the quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GILD. FMR LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 79.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,162,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,780,329,000 after purchasing an additional 14,680,161 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 50.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,900,921,000 after purchasing an additional 11,665,593 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 723.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,434,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $594,370,000 after purchasing an additional 5,653,075 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $207,340,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 350.1% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,305,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $193,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,793,145 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $107.08 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $119.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $133.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 289.41, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $103.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.85.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 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, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 854.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,626,253.06. This represents a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.