Choate Investment Advisors Buys 353 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Choate Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,722 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 325.0% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 1.7 %

GILD stock opened at $111.44 on Monday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.92. The company has a market capitalization of $138.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 301.19, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. Research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 854.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,977,938.37. This represents a 9.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250. Corporate insiders own 0.16% 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.