Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Lowers Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. decreased its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 35.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 37,122 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 20,047 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38,015 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter worth $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 168.3% in the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PFE. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

Pfizer Trading Down 2.4 %

PFE opened at $26.01 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.07 and a 200 day moving average of $27.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.48 and a 12 month high of $31.54. The firm has a market cap of $147.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.15, 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.17) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.61%. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

About Pfizer

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.