Kestra Investment Management LLC Sells 2,391 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Kestra Investment Management LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 63.1%, selling 2,391 shares, leading to ownership of only 1,398 shares worth $157,000.
• Multiple large investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Price T Rowe Associates Inc., have increased their stakes in Gilead Sciences, indicating strong interest from institutional investors.
• Gilead Sciences reported a net margin of 21.86% and a quarterly EPS of $2.01, exceeding analyst expectations, while also declaring a dividend of $0.79 per share to be paid on September 29th.

Kestra Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 63.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 2,391 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $215,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 117,736 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $10,875,000 after purchasing an additional 15,048 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,247,000. Finally, NDVR Inc. purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $213,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock traded down $3.31 on Friday, hitting $114.55. 6,466,956 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,830,447. The firm has a market cap of $142.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.36. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.57 and a 52 week high of $121.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

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

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the topic of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $128.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.39.

Insider Activity

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $296,325.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 160,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,977,838.30. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total transaction of $1,136,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 595,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,692,231.75. This represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,371,330 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.