Legal & General Group Plc Buys 414,454 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,210,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 414,454 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.82% of Gilead Sciences worth $1,133,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $30,000. MTM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 176.0% during the third quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 276 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 58.7% during the third quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.44, for a total value of $4,324,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 120,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,577,278.72. This trade represents a 18.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $617,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 8,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,101,620. The trade was a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 309,280 shares of company stock valued at $43,935,470 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ GILD 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. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.37 and a 52-week high of $157.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $138.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.06. The stock has a market cap of $182.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.36.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $7.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 28.90% and a return on equity of 49.46%. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.450-8.850 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 46.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $128.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.72.

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.