J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Has $100.57 Million Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 819,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 78,390 shares during the quarter. Gilead Sciences makes up approximately 1.6% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $100,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GILD. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 482,839 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $59,264,000 after buying an additional 8,284 shares during the period. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 15,189 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,864,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $574,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,406 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,627,000 after acquiring an additional 3,288 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $128.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. TD Cowen lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $103.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.62.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 115,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total transaction of $15,611,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 566,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,504,230. This represents a 16.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.23, for a total transaction of $432,690.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 179,191 shares in the company, valued at $25,844,717.93. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 299,280 shares of company stock valued at $42,820,550. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $136.34 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.37 and a 52 week high of $157.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $144.32 and its 200-day moving average is $128.89.

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

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

About Gilead Sciences

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.