Auxier Asset Management Lowers Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Auxier Asset Management decreased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,705 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,072 shares during the period. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. XML Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at about $203,000. Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $260,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 149.1% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,697 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 5,205 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,551 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,140,000 after buying an additional 3,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 8,733 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $807,000 after buying an additional 3,213 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GILD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler increased their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $107.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $133.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 290.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.30. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $119.96.

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

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.53%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total value of $2,118,669.93. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,977,938.37. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $3,010,560.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,026,263.04. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,929 shares of company stock worth $5,644,780 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.