Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 319,843 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Bank of Nova Scotia cut its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 55.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 260,374 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 319,843 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $28,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Boothbay Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 12.2% during the third quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,148,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $793,506,000 after acquiring an additional 400,002 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 303,062 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,640,000 after acquiring an additional 20,975 shares during the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 10.3% during the third quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 74,476 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,267,000 after acquiring an additional 6,928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 453,585 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,348,000 after acquiring an additional 5,616 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 115,640 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total transaction of $15,611,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 566,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,504,230. The trade was a 16.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.44, for a total transaction of $4,324,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 120,288 shares in the company, valued at $18,577,278.72. The trade was a 18.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 303,280 shares of company stock worth $43,203,470. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GILD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wolfe Research lifted 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. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $129.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.62.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $145.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.19. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.37 and a 1 year high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.03. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 28.90%.The firm had revenue of $7.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. The company’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. Equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.45%.

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.