Verity & Verity LLC Has $30.05 Million Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Verity & Verity LLC decreased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 270,699 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 13,079 shares during the period. Gilead Sciences makes up approximately 2.4% of Verity & Verity LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $30,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. American National Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 8.4% during the third quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 3,424 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 9,848 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,211,000 after acquiring an additional 4,924 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 16,698 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,853,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.3% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 25,420 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,822,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bell Bank increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.8% in the third quarter. Bell Bank now owns 78,585 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,723,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In related news, Director Kelly A. Kramer sold 2,805 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.10, for a total transaction of $356,515.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,339 shares in the company, valued at $170,186.90. This trade represents a 67.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.08, for a total transaction of $625,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,115,713.60. This trade represents a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 136,257 shares of company stock valued at $16,855,192. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GILD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $143.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.68.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $121.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.57 and a 1-year high of $128.70. The company’s 50-day moving average is $123.05 and its 200 day moving average is $117.05.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.86% and a net margin of 27.88%.The business had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

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

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.