HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its Gilead Sciences stake by 0.7% in Q4, leaving it with 1.66 million shares valued at about $203.9 million.
• Gilead reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.03 versus the $1.91 estimate and revenue of $6.96 billion, up 4.4% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, implying a 2.5% yield, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,661,355 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 11,942 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.13% of Gilead Sciences worth $203,915,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Consulate Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 85.8% during the 4th quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 236 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 54.8% during the 4th quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 243 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 176.0% during the 3rd quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 276 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BOCHK Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $129.67 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $137.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $102.84 and a one year high of $157.29. The company has a market cap of $160.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 0.31.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.12. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 30.99% and a return on equity of 48.19%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050--0.650 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $157.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 632,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $81,702,353.72. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.27, for a total transaction of $396,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,907,973.57. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 63,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,570 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Profile

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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