Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 57,344 Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 57,344 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,992,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth $215,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 118,695 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,160,000 after purchasing an additional 12,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD opened at $134.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The company has a market capitalization of $166.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 0.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $129.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.22. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $107.75 and a 1 year high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.91 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 30.99% and a return on equity of 48.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050–0.650 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.40, for a total value of $376,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 171,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,524,408.40. This trade represents a 1.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.29, for a total transaction of $1,894,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 607,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,674,826.57. This represents a 2.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,000 shares of company stock worth $9,978,740. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on GILD shares. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $148.00 to $146.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $168.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Twenty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.04.

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.