Royal Bank of Canada Has $801.66 Million Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 30.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,678,751 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,005,863 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.70% of Gilead Sciences worth $801,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GILD. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total transaction of $2,118,669.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,977,938.37. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 22,929 shares of company stock valued at $2,644,895 in the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GILD. DZ Bank raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $100.34 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $105.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 271.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.77 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.32) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 66.53%.

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.