UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Increases Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 12.4%, acquiring an additional 1,520,809 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 13.76 million shares valued at $1.54 billion.
• Gilead reported Q2 earnings with earnings per share of $2.01, exceeding estimates of $1.96, and revenue of $7.08 billion, higher than expectations of $6.95 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, with a current dividend yield of 2.7% and a payout ratio of 62.95%.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 12.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,755,481 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 1,520,809 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 1.11% of Gilead Sciences worth $1,541,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2,837.5% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Colonial Trust Advisors boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 304.3% during the first quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Core Alternative Capital boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 370.8% during the first quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 2.8%

Gilead Sciences stock traded down $3.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $114.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,466,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,830,447. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $114.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.57 and a 52-week high of $121.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.36.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period last year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.950-8.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.79 dividend. 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

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GILD. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Daiwa America raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Truist Financial upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.39.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $69,016,306.50. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $3,318,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,371,330. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.