Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 65.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,884 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,608 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 998 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.1% in the third quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 7,932 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $880,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% during the second quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 7,277 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $807,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 0.3% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 34,711 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,912,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GILD shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. HSBC increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Leerink Partners upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.31, for a total transaction of $372,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 150,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,709,027.93. This trade represents a 1.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $1,115,713.60. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 288,891 shares of company stock valued at $40,303,946. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $155.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $131.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $192.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.94, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.36. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.37 and a 1-year high of $157.29.

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

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.68%.

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.