First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Has $8.04 Million Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 589.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 72,471 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 61,959 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $8,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 7,566.7% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 230 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Corundum Trust Company INC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Putney Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 53.4% in the 2nd quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total value of $366,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 153,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,727,366. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.86, for a total value of $3,524,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 107,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,491,310.98. This represents a 20.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 141,757 shares of company stock valued at $17,569,112. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $153.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. HSBC upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.52.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 3.7%

GILD stock opened at $135.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $168.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.68. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.26 and a 1-year high of $136.30.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.42 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.86% and a net margin of 27.88%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. Analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 48.99%.

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.