Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Sells 9,506 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences by 15.6% during the second quarter, selling 9,506 shares and holding 51,612 shares worth approximately $5.72 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Price T Rowe Associates and Los Angeles Capital Management, have significantly increased their positions in Gilead, highlighting a strong interest from the investment community.
• Gilead Sciences reported earnings of $2.01 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share with a yield of 2.9%.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lowered its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,612 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 9,506 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $5,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 314.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,703,103 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,647,484,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,382 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at $620,415,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $238,083,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 422.6% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,523,036 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $282,706,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040,261 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,470,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $13,162,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942,433 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GILD has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.57, for a total transaction of $283,925.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 159,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,120,661.35. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.66, for a total transaction of $1,116,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 591,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,013,726.98. This trade represents a 1.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,402,130 over the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $110.56 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average is $114.42 and its 200 day moving average is $109.91. 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 company has a market capitalization of $137.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.34. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $83.98 and a fifty-two week high of $121.83.

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

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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