Flputnam Investment Management Co. Grows Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,772 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 490 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total transaction of $260,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares in the company, valued at $17,597,559.49. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 293,356 shares of company stock worth $29,166,240. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GILD. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.08.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD stock opened at $115.99 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $117.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $144.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 313.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $97.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.45.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 854.05%.

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.