6,533 Shares in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Purchased by Sterling Investment Counsel LLC

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,533 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $725,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.6% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,364,226 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,233,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893,401 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,207,662 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,231,548,000 after purchasing an additional 727,515 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,150,268,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 13,755,481 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,541,302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,521,228 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,499,098,000 after buying an additional 3,394,330 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GILD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Daiwa Capital Markets increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group raised shares of Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,115,713.60. The trade was a 35.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.83, for a total value of $1,248,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 566,698 shares in the company, valued at $70,740,911.34. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 136,257 shares of company stock valued at $16,855,192. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $122.74 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.57 and a fifty-two week high of $128.70. The company has a market cap of $152.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.97.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.42 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 27.88% and a return on equity of 51.86%. Gilead Sciences’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

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

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.