Monarch Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Monarch Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 115,382 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,152 shares during the quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after buying an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Pfizer by 279.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,481,000 after acquiring an additional 8,378,173 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,101,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the third quarter worth $146,481,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 164.2% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $211,737,000 after purchasing an additional 4,546,809 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE PFE opened at $26.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.48 and a fifty-two week high of $31.54. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $26.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.99. The stock has a market cap of $149.06 billion, a PE ratio of 35.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.54%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 232.43%.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on PFE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Pfizer Profile

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Zavzpret, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Abrysvo, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.