Slagle Financial LLC Raises Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Slagle Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,124 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the quarter. Slagle Financial LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $2,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GILD. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 period. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.7 %

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $111.16 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $119.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.43 billion, a PE ratio of 300.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.58. 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 (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total value of $13,822,739.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,626,253.06. The trade was a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.