Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $5.27 Million Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences by 24.5%, now holding 46,482 shares valued at approximately $5.26 million.
• Gilead Sciences recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79, with an annualized yield of 2.7%, payable on September 29th.
• Investment analysts show a positive outlook for Gilead, with multiple upgrades leading to an average price target of $115.39 and a current rating of "Moderate Buy".

Plato Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 24.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 46,482 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 15,097 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $5,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,470,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $13,162,606,000 after buying an additional 1,942,433 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 314.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,703,103 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,647,484,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156,382 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 12.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 13,755,481 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,541,302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520,809 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 15.1% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 1,605,730 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,678,751 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $801,655,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005,863 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.94, for a total value of $1,139,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,016,306.50. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total transaction of $3,318,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 114,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,532,333.04. The trade was a 19.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,371,330 in the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of GILD stock traded down $3.31 on Friday, hitting $114.55. The stock had a trading volume of 6,466,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,830,447. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.57 and a twelve month high of $121.83. The firm has a market cap of $142.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.36. 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 fifty day moving average price of $114.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.09.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.05. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 21.86% and a return on equity of 50.99%. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. The firm'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, analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GILD shares. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted 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. Daiwa America raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $128.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Gilead Sciences to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.39.

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.