Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Shares Acquired by M&T Bank Corp

Key Points

• M&T Bank increased its stake in Gilead by 12% in Q4 to 191,141 shares (about $23.46M), and institutional investors now own roughly 83.67% of the stock.
• Analysts are broadly positive—multiple firms raised ratings and targets recently, leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $157.35.
• Gilead beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.86 vs $1.83; revenue $7.93B, +4.7% YoY) and set FY2026 EPS guidance of $8.45–$8.85; it also raised the quarterly dividend to $0.82, even as insiders sold 178,640 shares over the past three months.

M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 191,141 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,505 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $23,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 319.0% in the third quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 21,394 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,375,000 after buying an additional 16,288 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 52.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 78,494 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,713,000 after acquiring an additional 26,882 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 249.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 10,045 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,168 shares in the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 1,415,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $157,139,000 after acquiring an additional 42,200 shares during the period. Finally, TriaGen Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,274,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GILD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $157.35.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.16, for a total value of $1,291,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 632,567 shares in the company, valued at $81,702,353.72. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.96, for a total transaction of $422,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 176,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,835,883.36. This trade represents a 1.67% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 178,640 shares of company stock valued at $26,584,250. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ GILD opened at $132.69 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $140.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.55. The stock has a market cap of $164.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.55. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.29 and a fifty-two week high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.03. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 28.90%.The company had revenue of $7.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. Gilead Sciences's 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 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is 48.45%.

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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