Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $79.77 Million Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 863,563 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,407 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Gilead Sciences worth $79,767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,171,691 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,044,795,000 after purchasing an additional 841,776 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 50.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,900,921,000 after acquiring an additional 11,665,593 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,540,870 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,302,119,000 after acquiring an additional 574,421 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $1,789,254,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,002,779 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $739,217,000 after purchasing an additional 249,804 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $111.16 on Friday. 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 market cap of $138.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 300.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $105.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.58. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $119.96.

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

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 169,061 shares in the company, valued at $19,977,938.37. This trade represents a 9.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.12.

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.