Port Capital LLC Lowers Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Port Capital LLC lowered its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,958 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,428 shares during the quarter. Port Capital LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.3% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 5,010 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 58,328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 42,162 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $25.56 on Wednesday. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.48 and a 12 month high of $31.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.65. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $27.68 and a 200 day moving average of $28.45.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The business’s revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 227.03%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Daiwa America upgraded Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup initiated coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.92.

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.