Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Shares Sold by Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI reduced its ownership in Gilead Sciences, Inc. by 65.3% in Q1, now holding $35.34 million in stock after selling over 593,000 shares.
• Gilead Sciences reported earnings per share of $2.01 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and achieving a 1.4% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.7%, with the payment scheduled for September 29th.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lessened its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 65.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 315,424 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 593,470 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $35,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 284,243 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,750,000 after acquiring an additional 14,009 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 430,424 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $48,229,000 after acquiring an additional 30,630 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 863 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $1,699,000. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter worth about $11,688,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock traded down $3.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $114.55. The company had a trading volume of 6,466,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,830,447. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.57 and a 12-month high of $121.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.09.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period last year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. Gilead Sciences'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. As a group, analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. 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 (DPR) is currently 62.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GILD has been the topic of several recent 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. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $108.00 to $127.00 in a report on Friday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.94, for a total transaction 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 $69,016,306.50. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total transaction of $296,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 160,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,977,838.30. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,371,330 in the last quarter. 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.