Pegasus Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Pegasus Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,844 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,768 shares during the period. Pegasus Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,745,831 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $166,284,000 after purchasing an additional 37,636 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 200.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 23,661 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 15,781 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $103,000. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $144,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE opened at $25.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $144.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.48 and a 1 year high of $31.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.46.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on PFE shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.