Howard Capital Management Group LLC Invests $94,000 in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Howard Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 835 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Redwood Financial Network Corp increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 2,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% in the first quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,040 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $677,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 3,880 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, CFO4Life Group LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GILD shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Nine 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 1.8%

GILD opened at $109.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company’s 50-day moving average is $105.67 and its 200 day moving average is $102.19. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.69 and a fifty-two week high of $119.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 297.24, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.32) earnings per share. Research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 66.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.82, for a total value of $249,550.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,537,578.68. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 121,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,026,263.04. This represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,630,310. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.