Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by Silverberg Bernstein Capital Management LLC

Silverberg Bernstein Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Silverberg Bernstein Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Pfizer by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,405,930,000 after buying an additional 3,405,539 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after acquiring an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,392,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855,419 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,101,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in Pfizer by 0.6% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,819,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $486,762,000 after purchasing an additional 100,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $26.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $150.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.03.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.47%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 232.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on PFE. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

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.