KBC Group NV Acquires 496,708 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 26.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,341,793 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 496,708 shares during the quarter. Gilead Sciences accounts for approximately 0.7% of KBC Group NV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $259,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advyzon Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 2,083 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $397,000. Simplify Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 148.6% in the second quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,890 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,864,000 after purchasing an additional 31,618 shares in the last quarter. STF Management LP increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. STF Management LP now owns 19,365 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,542 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GILD has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $127.00) on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.27.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of GILD stock opened at $122.56 on Wednesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.08 and a fifty-two week high of $124.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.42 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 50.99% and a net margin of 21.86%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 48.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.08, for a total transaction of $295,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 157,055 shares in the company, valued at $18,545,054.40. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $3,318,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 114,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,532,333.04. The trade was a 19.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 71,500 shares of company stock worth $8,336,040. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines in the areas of unmet medical need in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy, Odefsey, Truvada, Complera/ Eviplera, Stribild, Sunlencs, and Atripla products for the treatment of HIV/AIDS; Veklury, an injection for intravenous use, for the treatment of COVID-19; and Epclusa, Harvoni, Vemlidy, and Viread for the treatment of viral hepatitis.