Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,451,249 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 59,181 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Gilead Sciences worth $121,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 51.6% in the second quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Gilead Sciences stock traded up $1.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $92.57. The stock had a trading volume of 22,529,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,132,954. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,028.56, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $98.90. The stock's fifty day moving average is $90.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.42.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.01 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is currently 3,422.22%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total value of $23,064,310.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 138,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,886,126.44. This trade represents a 64.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 80,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,427,227.92. The trade was 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 455,734 shares of company stock valued at $42,069,746 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GILD shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Mizuho upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.43.

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.