National Pension Service Reduces Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• National Pension Service cut its Gilead Sciences stake by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 379,983 shares and ending with about 2.99 million shares valued at roughly $367 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with 25 Buy ratings and 4 Hold ratings; the stock’s consensus view is “Moderate Buy” and the average target price is $156.93.
• Gilead reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.03 topping estimates and revenue rising 4.4% year over year to $6.96 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share.

National Pension Service decreased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,990,660 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 379,983 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.24% of Gilead Sciences worth $367,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Consulate Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 85.8% in the fourth quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 236 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 54.8% in the 4th quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 243 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 176.0% in the 3rd quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 276 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on GILD. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $175.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Twenty-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.93.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $136.22 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.46 and a fifty-two week high of $157.29. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $135.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.08. The company has a market cap of $169.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050--0.650 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 632,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $81,702,353.72. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.29, for a total transaction of $3,676,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 125,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,513,524.91. The trade was a 18.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 53,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,075,670 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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