Horizon Investments LLC Trims Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Horizon Investments LLC reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences by 20.4%, now holding shares valued at approximately $2.76 million.
• Brokerages have raised their price targets for Gilead Sciences, with Morgan Stanley setting a new target of $135.00 and Needham & Company upgrading the stock to a "buy" rating with a $133.00 price objective.
• Gilead announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79, translating to an annualized yield of 2.7%, with a payout ratio of 62.95%.

Horizon Investments LLC reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 20.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,661 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 6,310 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $2,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,470,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $13,162,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942,433 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,915,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,377,707,000 after buying an additional 2,458,954 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,234,672 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,130,117,000 after buying an additional 1,605,730 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,678,751 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $801,655,000 after buying an additional 2,005,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter worth approximately $620,415,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GILD shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded 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. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.39.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.0%

Gilead Sciences stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $117.98. The company had a trading volume of 6,483,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,328,766. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.34 and a 12 month high of $121.83. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $111.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $146.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.03, for a total transaction of $277,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 162,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,054,588.30. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $3,010,560.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 121,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,026,263.04. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,000 shares of company stock worth $12,349,790 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.