Handelsbanken Fonder AB Decreases Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,069,634 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 81,694 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $131,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,097,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $14,863,487,000 after buying an additional 2,113,692 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,139,681 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,680,505,000 after buying an additional 1,618,453 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,210,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,133,376,000 after buying an additional 414,454 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,148,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $793,506,000 after buying an additional 400,002 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,138,699 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $630,056,000 after buying an additional 726,101 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.16, for a total transaction of $1,291,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 632,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,702,353.72. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.29, for a total value of $3,676,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 125,779 shares in the company, valued at $16,513,524.91. The trade was a 18.21% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 63,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,570. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $129.67 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $137.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.40. The company has a market capitalization of $160.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.84 and a 52 week high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 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 company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050–0.650 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on GILD. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Argus upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.04.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

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.