KBC Group NV Raises Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 26.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,341,793 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 496,708 shares during the period. Gilead Sciences makes up approximately 0.7% of KBC Group NV’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. KBC Group NV owned about 0.19% of Gilead Sciences worth $259,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7,566.7% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 230 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2,837.5% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Putney Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 53.4% in the second quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Advisors grew 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 buying an additional 213 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of GILD opened at $122.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s fifty day moving average is $116.79 and its 200 day moving average is $112.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.08 and a fifty-two week high of $124.61.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 21.86% and a return on equity of 50.99%. The business had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.99%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.08, for a total transaction of $295,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 157,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,545,054.40. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.66, for a total transaction of $1,116,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 591,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,013,726.98. This represents a 1.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,500 shares of company stock worth $8,336,040. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GILD. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Argus increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.27.

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.