Meiji Yasuda America Inc Increases Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Meiji Yasuda America Inc boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 22.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 30,454 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,520 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda America Inc’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $4,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aviva PLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 1,156,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $141,978,000 after purchasing an additional 59,782 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,418,000. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 111,531 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,689,000 after buying an additional 10,449 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 150.3% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 17,147 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,105,000 after buying an additional 10,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 243,532 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,891,000 after buying an additional 76,432 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Leerink Partners lowered Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $146.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Twenty-five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.33.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $130.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.06 and a twelve month high of $157.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.42.

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

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.69%.

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, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.40, for a total transaction of $376,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 171,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,524,408.40. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 607,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,674,826.57. The trade was a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,978,740. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.