Essex Savings Bank Sells 4,251 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Essex Savings Bank trimmed its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 10.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,516 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,251 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mcdonald Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 110,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,926,000 after buying an additional 9,963 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at about $264,000. ING Groep NV lifted its stake in Pfizer by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,013,230 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,881,000 after acquiring an additional 331,403 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth $2,281,000. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 20,587 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $24.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $23.14 and its 200 day moving average is $24.93. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.92 and a 1 year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The company had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 124.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated 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. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.17.

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.