Dakota Wealth Management Sells 2,039 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Dakota Wealth Management cut its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,211 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,039 shares during the quarter. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $3,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 57,967 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,446,000 after buying an additional 4,877 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.9% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 448,409 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,660,000 after purchasing an additional 16,643 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 44.3% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 8,642 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,654 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 5,763 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Finally, Ergoteles LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter valued at $2,304,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GILD shares. Truist Financial lowered shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.18, for a total value of $146,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 100,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,386,496.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $67.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.19. The company’s 50-day moving average is $72.61 and its 200 day moving average is $76.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.43. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.62 and a fifty-two week high of $87.86.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.04). Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 38.85%. The company had revenue of $7.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.77 dividend. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.44%.

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.