State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 38,600 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D has reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences by 8.5%, now holding 417,737 shares valued at $46.8 million.
• Gilead Sciences reported quarterly earnings of $2.01 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue of $7.08 billion, showing a 1.4% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.7%, to be paid on September 29th.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 417,737 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 38,600 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $46,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 284,243 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,750,000 after buying an additional 14,009 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 14.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 863 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $1,699,000. Capital International Inc. CA lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 312,209 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $28,839,000 after acquiring an additional 60,035 shares during the period. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the first quarter worth $11,688,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on GILD shares. Truist Financial upgraded 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. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded 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. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.39.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $117.98. 6,154,639 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,328,695. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.34 and a 12 month high of $121.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.33. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $111.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.64.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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, equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.94, for a total value of $1,139,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,725 shares in the company, valued at $69,016,306.50. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 8,920 shares in the company, valued at $978,880.80. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,000 shares of company stock valued at $12,349,790 over the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by 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.