Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Shares Sold by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors LLC has reduced its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 25.7%, selling 5,191 shares and ending the quarter with 15,021 shares valued at approximately $1.67 million.
• Gilead Sciences reported earnings of $2.01 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and showed a 1.4% revenue increase year-over-year with total revenue of $7.08 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.7% and a payout ratio of 62.95%.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 25.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,021 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 5,191 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.9%

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $118.21 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.34 and a 52 week high of $121.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $114.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.30.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.05. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 21.86% and a return on equity of 50.99%. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. The company's 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. Research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GILD. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $128.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $118.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total value of $1,136,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 595,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,692,231.75. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.57, for a total transaction of $283,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 159,555 shares in the company, valued at $18,120,661.35. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,000 shares of company stock worth $7,632,100. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.

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