Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Acquires 31,948 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d'investissement inc. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3,194.8% by acquiring an additional 31,948 shares, bringing its total ownership to 32,948 shares valued at $3,653,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Price T Rowe Associates, have also significantly increased their holdings in Gilead, with institutional ownership now accounting for 83.67% of the company’s stock.
• Gilead Sciences recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, with a scheduled payment date of September 29, reflecting a 2.9% dividend yield.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 3,194.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,948 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,948 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.'s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $3,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 314.6% during the first 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 buying an additional 11,156,382 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the first quarter worth $620,415,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 13,891.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,550,298 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $285,761,000 after buying an additional 2,532,070 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 422.6% during the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% during the first 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 last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.4%

GILD traded up $0.47 on Friday, reaching $114.09. 12,580,487 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,095,334. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $114.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.07. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.83 and a 52-week high of $121.83. The company has a market cap of $141.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.950-8.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $128.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.17.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.74, for a total value of $548,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $978,880.80. This trade represents a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $3,318,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 114,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,532,333.04. This trade represents a 19.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,390,030 in the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Gilead Sciences

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.