California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 116,758 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,584,898 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 116,758 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $499,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 71.4% during the 4th quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 60.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $134.28 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $129.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.22. The company has a market capitalization of $166.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.75 and a fifty-two week high of $157.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.97.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.12. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 48.19% and a net margin of 30.99%.The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. The company’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. Research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 44.69%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.29, for a total transaction of $1,894,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 607,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,674,826.57. This represents a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.40, for a total transaction of $376,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 171,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,524,408.40. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 77,000 shares of company stock worth $9,978,740 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on GILD. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $168.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Daiwa Securities Group cut their target price on Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Gilead Sciences from $148.00 to $146.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $133.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Twenty-six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.04.

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.