Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC Purchases 17,437 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 88.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,144 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,437 shares during the period. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $3,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $266,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 168,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,893,713.60. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,540,875 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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 research report on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler upped their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America lifted 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.43.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ GILD opened at $103.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $109.21 and its 200-day moving average is $98.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $128.46 billion, a PE ratio of 278.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.08. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.32) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 854.05%.

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.