Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Position Boosted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,454,658 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 3,409 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $134,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GILD has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total value of $620,355.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $815,198.80. This trade represents a 43.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 137,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.22, for a total value of $14,073,240.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 171,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,502,415.06. This represents a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 710,500 shares of company stock worth $67,684,956 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $105.25 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $106.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.89. The firm has a market cap of $131.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,169.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3,422.22%.

About Gilead Sciences

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.