First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Purchases 61,959 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 589.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,471 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,959 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $8,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7,566.7% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 230 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 53.4% during the 2nd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on GILD. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Daiwa Capital Markets increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.52.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $135.93 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $123.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.68. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.26 and a 1-year high of $136.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $168.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.33.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.42 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.86% and a net margin of 27.88%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 48.99%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, 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 transaction of $3,524,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 107,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,491,310.98. This represents a 20.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deborah H. Telman sold 53,646 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.85, for a total transaction of $6,590,411.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,365,596.60. This trade represents a 55.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 141,757 shares of company stock worth $17,569,112 over the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.