Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Reduces Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lowered its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 533,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 15,153 shares during the period. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $59,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $215,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 24.2% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 94,286 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,565,000 after purchasing an additional 18,368 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 44.1% during the 1st quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,622 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 38,275 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,289,000 after purchasing an additional 3,593 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.13.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD stock opened at $125.02 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $86.08 and a twelve month high of $127.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $155.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.83.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 48.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.57, for a total transaction of $340,710.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 113,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,855,329.01. The trade was a 2.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.08, for a total value of $295,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 157,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,545,054.40. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 94,646 shares of company stock valued at $11,311,286. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.