Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 8,160 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $15,393,785,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,617,152,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $918,387,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at $517,808,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $398,905,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.4%

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

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.51 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently -122.85%.

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 dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.36, for a total value of $415,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 165,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,918,780.56. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total value of $3,853,920.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 118,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,273,727.76. This represents a 19.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 87,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,562,960. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GILD shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Gilead Sciences from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $146.00 to $127.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.04.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

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.