Capital Analysts LLC Buys 3,424 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Capital Analysts LLC raised its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,656 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,424 shares during the quarter. Capital Analysts LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Pfizer by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,535,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,756,738,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285,276 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,124,330,000 after buying an additional 25,315,159 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 120,589,782 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,190,131,000 after buying an additional 2,923,537 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,328,986,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,029,604,000 after acquiring an additional 5,350,381 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:PFE opened at $22.95 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.92 and a fifty-two week high of $31.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on PFE. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price objective (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.57.

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.