Gilead Sciences (GILD) will raise its quarterly dividend by 7.9 percent to $0.68 per share in the first quarter of 2020. Last year the biopharmaceutical company hiked its dividend by 10.5 percent, marking the 4th consecutive year of higher payments to shareholders.

The next dividend is payable on March 30, 2020, to stockholders of record at the close of business on March 13, 2020. A new annualized dividend rate of $2.72 per share yields 4.1% at a stock price of $65.81,

Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a research-based biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative medicines. The company's principal areas of focus include human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), liver diseases (hepatitis C and hepatitis B), cardiovascular, hematology/oncology and inflammation/respiratory. Gilead became a public company in 1992 and has been paying a dividend since 2015. Gilead has operations in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California.