Verus Financial Partners Inc. Cuts Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Verus Financial Partners Inc. decreased its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 6.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,517 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 687 shares during the period. Verus Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 26,306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Ironvine Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Ironvine Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,953 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 58,328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,632,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 42,162 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in Pfizer by 1.5% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 25,185 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $705,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PFE. StockNews.com raised shares of Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays upped their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.54.

Pfizer Price Performance

NYSE:PFE opened at $28.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.04. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.20 and a 1-year high of $35.28. The firm has a market cap of $161.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -475.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.68.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.14. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 4.66% and a positive return on equity of 8.42%. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2,799.53%.

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.