Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Makes New $1.03 Million Investment in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 8,160 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,393,785,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,240,518 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,393,921,000 after buying an additional 1,151,213 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 27,698,660 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,399,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,269 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 23,121,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,837,948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,046,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $2,617,152,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ GILD opened at $146.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.95 billion, a PE ratio of -54.96 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $132.42 and its 200 day moving average is $136.57. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.46 and a twelve month high of $157.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. The business had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -122.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on GILD shares. Leerink Partners cut shares of Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $146.00 to $127.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. HSBC raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.36, for a total value of $415,080.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 165,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,918,780.56. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total value of $725,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,459,771.32. This trade represents a 33.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 87,000 shares of company stock worth $11,562,960. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.