Fred Alger Management LLC Acquires 3,424 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 11.5%, owning 33,183 shares valued at approximately $3.7 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have significantly boosted their positions in Gilead, including a 314.6% increase by Price T Rowe Associates and a new position worth $620.4 million from Nuveen LLC.
• Gilead Sciences recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, which reflects an annualized yield of 2.7% and a payout ratio of 62.95%.

Fred Alger Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 11.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 33,183 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 3,424 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $3,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the first quarter worth $25,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2,837.5% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the first quarter worth $29,000. Colonial Trust Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 304.3% during the first quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Core Alternative Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 370.8% during the first quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 2.8%

GILD stock traded down $3.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $114.55. The stock had a trading volume of 6,466,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,830,447. The firm has a market cap of $142.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.57 and a 1-year high of $121.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $114.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.09.

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

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GILD. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a report on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target 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. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $128.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.39.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total transaction of $296,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 160,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,977,838.30. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.74, for a total transaction of $548,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,920 shares in the company, valued at $978,880.80. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 82,000 shares of company stock worth $9,371,330 over the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences 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.