12 Best Dividend Stocks to Invest In According to Hedge Funds

8. Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 71

Dividend Yield as of May 21: 2.50%

Next on our list of the Best Dividend Stocks is Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD). It is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines in the areas of unmet medical need in the United States, Europe, and internationally.

On May 20, Maxim analyst Michael Okunewitch upgraded Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) from ‘Hold’ to ‘Buy’, while assigning the stock a price target of $165. The price estimate reflects an upside of over 25% from the current levels.

The analyst expects Gilead’s core business growth to reach 5%-6%, exceeding the previous estimates of 4%-5%. Maxims believes that GILD deserves to trade at a premium to peers due to the growth potential of Yeztugo in PREP, Trodelvy in first-line breast cancer, and the company’s continued dominance in the treatment of HIV. However, the analyst firm added that following the stock’s pullback from its all-time highs, Gilead’s P/E multiple of 15.1 times projected 2026 earnings is now roughly in line with its biopharma peers.

The upgrade comes after Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) exceeded estimates in its Q1 report on May 7. However, the company revealed that it now expects an adjusted loss per share in the range of $1.05 to $0.65 for full-year 2026, primarily due to the IPR&D charges of $11.5 billion and financing costs related to Arcellx, Ouro Medicines, and Tubulis GmbH deals.

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