Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,785 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,212 shares during the quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Pfizer by 2.5% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 42,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Pfizer by 1.5% during the second quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $26.41 on Wednesday. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.48 and a 52 week high of $31.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.03. The stock has a market cap of $149.67 billion, a PE ratio of 35.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 232.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFE. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.