First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors boosted its stake in Gilead by 154.3% in Q3 to 3,089,283 shares (about 0.25% of the company), valued at roughly $342.9 million.
• Gilead raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share (annualized $3.28, yield ~2.3%), and recently beat Q4 revenue and EPS estimates while setting FY2026 guidance of 8.45–8.85 EPS.
• Company insiders have been net sellers — including the CEO selling 10,000 shares and a director selling 5,000 — with insiders offloading 309,280 shares (~$43.9M) in the last 90 days; insiders now own about 0.27% of the stock.

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 154.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,089,283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,874,508 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.25% of Gilead Sciences worth $342,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $215,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 16.8% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $306,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 43.0% during the second quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In related news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $617,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,101,620. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.79, for a total transaction of $1,447,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 642,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,999,775.32. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 309,280 shares of company stock worth $43,935,470 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.7%

GILD opened at $144.08 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.37 and a 52 week high of $157.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.75. The firm has a market cap of $178.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.37.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.03. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 28.90%.The firm had revenue of $7.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.450-8.850 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.72.

About Gilead Sciences

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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