Principal Securities Inc. Buys 4,468 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 45.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,404 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Bellevue Group AG raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 18.2% in the third quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 46,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,859,000 after purchasing an additional 7,093 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 149.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 81,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,843,000 after buying an additional 48,910 shares during the period. McAdam LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 25,372 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,344,000 after buying an additional 3,627 shares in the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $830,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 387,492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,793,000 after acquiring an additional 9,791 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $815,198.80. This trade represents a 43.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total value of $15,094,275.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 80,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,427,227.92. This represents a 67.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 710,500 shares of company stock valued at $67,684,956. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $105.25 on Wednesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $106.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $94.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.89. The company has a market cap of $131.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,169.44, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GILD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. DZ Bank raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.08.

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.