Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Stake Lessened by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council trimmed its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 47.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 72,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 64,093 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $8,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,470,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,162,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942,433 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 314.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,703,103 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,647,484,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156,382 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 13,755,481 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,541,302,000 after buying an additional 1,520,809 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at about $620,415,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,956,933 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $436,648,000 after buying an additional 1,126,886 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $119.79 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $148.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.66. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.08 and a fifty-two week high of $124.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 21.86% and a return on equity of 50.99%. The firm had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 48.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.08, for a total transaction of $295,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 157,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,545,054.40. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.66, for a total value of $1,116,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 591,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,013,726.98. This trade represents a 1.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,500 shares of company stock valued at $8,336,040. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GILD shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

About Gilead Sciences

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.