Fluent Financial LLC Makes New $2.69 Million Investment in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Fluent Financial LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 29,156 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,693,000. Gilead Sciences comprises about 1.2% of Fluent Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Financial Network Corp lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 2,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. CFO4Life Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 4,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $3,010,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 121,152 shares in the company, valued at $13,026,263.04. The trade was a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $266,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 168,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,893,713.60. This represents a 1.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,929 shares of company stock worth $5,644,780 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GILD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $107.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 290.19, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $105.27 and a 200-day moving average of $100.46. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.77 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Gilead Sciences’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.32) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 66.53%.

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.