Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $134.37 Million Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,454,658 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,409 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Gilead Sciences worth $134,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bellevue Group AG lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 18.2% in the third quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 46,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,859,000 after acquiring an additional 7,093 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 149.5% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 81,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,843,000 after acquiring an additional 48,910 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 25,372 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,344,000 after acquiring an additional 3,627 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the third quarter worth about $830,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $35,793,000 after acquiring an additional 9,791 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GILD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Daiwa America raised Gilead Sciences to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total transaction of $23,064,310.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 138,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,886,126.44. The trade was a 64.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 713,000 shares of company stock worth $67,945,181. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Gilead Sciences stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $109.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,729,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,379,648. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 297.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $111.03. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $95.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.73.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. Research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is presently 832.43%.

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.