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

Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 45.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,404 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 101.9% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of GILD stock opened at $105.25 on Wednesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $106.69. The stock has a market cap of $131.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,169.44, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $94.14 and its 200-day moving average is $87.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total value of $15,094,275.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 80,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,427,227.92. This trade represents a 67.02 % 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 ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the topic of a number of analyst 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. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has a consensus 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.