Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,211,272 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 49,215 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $134,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GILD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,364,226 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,233,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,401 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,207,662 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,231,548,000 after purchasing an additional 727,515 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,150,268,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 33.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,521,228 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,499,098,000 after purchasing an additional 3,394,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,467,411 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,167,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614,355 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on GILD shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $128.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $103.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.72.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $617,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,101,620. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.43, for a total value of $463,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 167,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,910,110.97. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 309,280 shares of company stock valued at $43,935,470 over the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $146.63 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $138.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.06. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.37 and a 52 week high of $157.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.36.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.03. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 28.90% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The company had revenue of $7.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.450-8.850 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 46.68%.

Gilead Sciences 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.