Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Purchased by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 36.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 229,513 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61,737 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $6,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Davidson Trust Co. grew its position in Pfizer by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 39,656 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,052,000 after buying an additional 5,062 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 584,963 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $15,519,000 after purchasing an additional 7,544 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its stake in Pfizer by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 1,210,009 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,102,000 after buying an additional 41,694 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Pfizer by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,181 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens & Northern Corp increased its position in Pfizer by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 36,646 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 2,545 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Stock Down 0.6 %

PFE opened at $25.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $144.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.48 and a 1 year high of $31.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 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 given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.75%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 121.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Pfizer Company 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.