Norinchukin Bank The Grows Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Norinchukin Bank The increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,098 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,726 shares during the quarter. Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $6,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total transaction of $13,822,739.60. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,540,875 in the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $104.49 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.45. The stock has a market cap of $130.10 billion, a PE ratio of 282.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $119.96. 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, beating the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 854.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GILD. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of 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 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. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.12.

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.