Conning Inc. Decreases Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Conning Inc. cut its Gilead Sciences stake by 10.3% in the first quarter, selling 28,882 shares and leaving it with 250,532 shares valued at about $34.9 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with 26 Buy ratings and 3 Hold ratings; the consensus price target is $159.04, though several firms recently trimmed targets.
• Gilead reported solid quarterly results and continues to pay a dividend, posting EPS of $2.03 versus the $1.91 estimate and maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.82, or $3.28 annualized, for a 2.5% yield.

Conning Inc. decreased its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 250,532 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 28,882 shares during the period. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $34,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of GILD. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 6.4% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 50,178 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,993,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 331,796 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $46,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,942 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 632.4% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 271 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 725 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 50,177 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,993,000 after buying an additional 714 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $168.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Twenty-six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $159.04.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.29, for a total transaction of $1,894,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 607,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,674,826.57. This trade represents a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total transaction of $371,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 124,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,395,077.28. This trade represents a 2.36% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 83,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,824,500. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $129.83 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.96. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $107.75 and a twelve month high of $157.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $161.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.12. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 30.99% and a return on equity of 48.19%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. Gilead Sciences's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050--0.650 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

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.

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