Bill Few Associates Inc. Trims Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Bill Few Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 79,516 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 7,247 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP raised its position in Pfizer by 102.8% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38,015 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Pfizer during the second quarter worth $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management lifted its stake in Pfizer by 168.3% during the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $26.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.48 and a 12 month high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.61%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 227.03%.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PFE. UBS Group dropped their target price on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

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.