Ariel Investments LLC Has $40.90 Million Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Ariel Investments LLC lessened its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 14.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 368,861 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 61,563 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $40,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 2,837.5% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7,566.7% in the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 230 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Putney Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 53.4% during the second quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth $30,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.08, for a total transaction of $625,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,115,713.60. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.86, for a total value of $3,524,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 107,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,491,310.98. The trade was a 20.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 135,757 shares of company stock valued at $16,616,127 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on GILD shares. Scotiabank started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $143.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.65.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 1.5%

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $119.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $121.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.53. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.57 and a 1-year high of $128.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 27.88% and a return on equity of 51.86%. The company had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.99%.

About Gilead Sciences

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.