Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 169,087 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,295,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 169,087 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $404,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,617,152,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3,763.8% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,223,304 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $518,368,000 after acquiring an additional 4,113,999 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,097,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $14,863,487,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113,692 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 154.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,089,283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $342,910,000 after purchasing an additional 1,874,508 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,139,681 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,680,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618,453 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $128.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $104.46 and a one year high of $157.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.39.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.12. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 30.99% and a return on equity of 48.19%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050–0.650 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 44.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GILD shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Maxim Group raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Mizuho upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Twenty-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.29, for a total value of $3,676,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 125,779 shares in the company, valued at $16,513,524.91. The trade was a 18.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.27, for a total value of $396,810.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 173,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,907,973.57. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 68,000 shares of company stock worth $9,047,570 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.