Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. reduced its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 38,074 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 165 shares during the period. Gilead Sciences makes up 1.3% of Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $3,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 179.0% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,543,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $340,526,000 after acquiring an additional 2,915,141 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 89.0% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 3,764,107 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $304,930,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772,887 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $133,584,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,971,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 9,100.7% during the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 722,345 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $54,133,000 after acquiring an additional 714,494 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GILD shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. HSBC raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $69.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.87.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.18, for a total value of $146,360.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 100,936 shares in the company, valued at $7,386,496.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $65.42. 12,382,425 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,443,315. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.25. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.63 and a 1-year high of $87.86. The firm has a market cap of $81.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 181.72, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.49) by $0.17. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The business had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.71%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 855.56%.

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.