Capital Research Global Investors Sells 3,853,443 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Capital Research Global Investors trimmed its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,946,228 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,853,443 shares during the period. Gilead Sciences comprises 1.1% of Capital Research Global Investors’ portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Capital Research Global Investors’ holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $5,352,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,443 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,249,000 after buying an additional 917 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,482 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $711,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $209,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 33.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,999 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,180,000 after buying an additional 6,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the third quarter worth about $9,661,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD stock opened at $104.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $130.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 282.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $119.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $109.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.45.

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

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 854.05%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total transaction 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 approximately $12,626,253.06. The trade was a 52.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $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 topic of a number of research analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report 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 research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.