Fifth Third Bancorp Purchases 226,510 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp increased its Gilead Sciences stake by 51.2% in the first quarter, adding 226,510 shares to bring its total holdings to 668,661 shares worth about $93.2 million.
• Several other large institutional investors also boosted their positions, and overall hedge funds and institutions own 83.67% of Gilead’s stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Gilead, with 26 Buy ratings, a consensus rating of Moderate Buy, and an average price target of $159.04.

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 51.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 668,661 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 226,510 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp owned 0.05% of Gilead Sciences worth $93,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,097,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $14,863,487,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113,692 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,240,518 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,393,921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,213 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 27,698,660 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,399,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,269 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 23,121,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,837,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,046,688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth $2,617,152,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Gilead Sciences from $168.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $148.00 to $146.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $157.00 to $156.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Twenty-six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $159.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.40, for a total transaction of $376,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 171,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,524,408.40. This trade represents a 1.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total value of $1,971,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 617,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $81,185,357.82. This trade represents a 2.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 83,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,824,500 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock traded down $5.01 on Friday, reaching $129.83. 5,934,235 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,886,756. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $129.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $107.75 and a twelve month high of $157.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. Gilead Sciences's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050--0.650 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

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

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.

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