Milestone Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Milestone Asset Management raised its stake in Gilead by 155.3% in Q4 to 48,570 shares (about $5.96M), making GILD ~1.1% of the firm's portfolio and its 22nd-largest holding.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently—294,280 shares worth $42.3M sold over the last 90 days (including a 28,000-share sale by Johanna Mercier)—leaving insiders with just 0.30% ownership.
• Analyst and financial backdrop is constructive: the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" (24 Buys, 4 Holds) with a $157.35 target, Gilead posted a modest Q beat, set FY2026 EPS guidance of $8.45–$8.85, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82.

Milestone Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 155.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,570 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 29,548 shares during the quarter. Gilead Sciences comprises about 1.1% of Milestone Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Milestone Asset Management LLC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $5,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 319.0% during the third quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 21,394 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,375,000 after buying an additional 16,288 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 52.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 78,494 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,713,000 after acquiring an additional 26,882 shares during the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 249.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 10,045 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,168 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 1,415,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $157,139,000 after acquiring an additional 42,200 shares during the period. Finally, TriaGen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,274,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on GILD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $171.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.44, for a total transaction of $4,324,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 120,288 shares in the company, valued at $18,577,278.72. This trade represents a 18.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.43, for a total value of $463,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 167,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,910,110.97. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 294,280 shares of company stock worth $42,302,950 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ GILD opened at $132.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.39. The firm's 50-day moving average is $143.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.89. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.37 and a 12 month high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.03. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 28.90% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business had revenue of $7.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.450-8.850 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

About Gilead Sciences

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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