Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 7,292 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 51,266 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 7,292 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% during the third quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.7% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,424,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 10.5% in the third quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 4,073 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.6% in the third quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 24,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $25.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.72. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The company has a market cap of $146.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given 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 yield of 6.65%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.99%.

Pfizer Company 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.