Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Stock: Diversified Trust Co Trims Stake

Diversified Trust Co cut its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 39.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,796 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 21,838 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $5,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $15,393,785,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 61,216,552 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,734,099,000 after buying an additional 1,357,967 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 10.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 10,539,111 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,468,836,000 after buying an additional 1,018,976 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $1,316,606,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $918,387,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GILD has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC set a $175.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $158.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $168.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $163.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Daniel O’Day sold 102,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.16, for a total value of $17,974,744.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 551,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $96,632,794.28. The trade was a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total transaction of $3,853,920.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 118,234 shares in the company, valued at $16,273,727.76. The trade was 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 242,709 shares of company stock valued at $39,503,427. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD stock opened at $168.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.88 and a fifty-two week high of $176.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $155.10 and a 200-day moving average of $141.80.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.36. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 1.85% and a negative net margin of 12.47%. The company had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -103.80%.

Key Headlines Impacting Gilead Sciences

These are some of the GILD headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised several forecasts, including FY2027 EPS to $9.42 from $9.36 and FY2028 EPS to $9.69 from $9.66. It also made small upward adjustments to quarterly estimates. The revisions suggest slightly improved expectations, though the analyst’s Hold rating tempers the signal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Gilead announced a partnership with TelevisaUnivision to promote HIV-prevention awareness at the Latin GRAMMY Awards. It may build awareness, but the announcement does not specify a direct near-term financial impact. Read More..
• Neutral Sentiment: A broader pharmaceutical-stock article highlighted Gilead’s dividend and pipeline as defensive attributes, but offered no company-specific new financial or operating catalyst. Read More..

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious diseases. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, the company focuses on antiviral therapies, including treatments and preventive medicines for HIV and medicines for viral hepatitis. Its products include Biktarvy for HIV and Epclusa for hepatitis C. Gilead also develops medicines in areas such as oncology and inflammatory diseases. Its portfolio includes Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral medicine used to treat COVID-19.