Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 61,294 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 25.5%, selling 61,294 shares and bringing its total to 178,748 shares worth approximately $20 million.
• Gilead Sciences received multiple rating upgrades from research firms, including a buy rating and a price target increase by Needham & Company from $108 to $127.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share to be paid on September 29th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.8%.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 25.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 178,748 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 61,294 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $20,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2,837.5% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Colonial Trust Advisors boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 304.3% during the first quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Core Alternative Capital grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 370.8% during the first quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on GILD shares. Daiwa America raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Truist Financial raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $128.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $296,325.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 160,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,977,838.30. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total transaction of $3,318,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 114,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,532,333.04. The trade was a 19.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,371,330 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock traded up $2.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $115.05. The company had a trading volume of 6,953,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,095,748. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.36. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $78.26 and a one year high of $121.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $113.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.82.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.05. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 50.99% and a net margin of 21.86%.The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.950-8.250 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is currently 62.95%.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

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.