Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Shares Sold by Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC cut its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 53.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,448 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 26,942 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $2,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Csenge Advisory Group increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 319.0% in the 3rd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 21,394 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after acquiring an additional 16,288 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 52.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 78,494 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,713,000 after buying an additional 26,882 shares during the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 249.1% during the third quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 10,045 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,168 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 1,415,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $157,139,000 after purchasing an additional 42,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TriaGen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,274,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GILD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.72.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $146.63 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $93.37 and a twelve month high of $157.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $138.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $182.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.36.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.03. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 28.90% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business had revenue of $7.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.450-8.850 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 46.68%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.43, for a total value of $463,290.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 167,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,910,110.97. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.79, for a total value of $1,447,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 642,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,999,775.32. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 309,280 shares of company stock valued at $43,935,470 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.