Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Cuts Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. reduced its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,093 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,408 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PFE. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 102.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 168.3% during the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Pfizer stock traded down $0.09 on Monday, reaching $26.63. 17,097,867 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 32,872,508. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.04. The company has a market cap of $150.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year high of $31.54. 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 (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current 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 6.46%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 232.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup started coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.