Gradient Investments LLC Boosts Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 19.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,109,832 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 183,403 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $29,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 6.6% during the second quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 95,592 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,675,000 after buying an additional 5,932 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $738,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 612,429 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $17,068,000 after acquiring an additional 9,435 shares during the last quarter. Sender Co & Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter worth $499,000. Finally, Smith Thornton Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the second quarter worth $311,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on PFE shares. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $26.10 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The company has a market capitalization of $147.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.08 and a 200-day moving average of $27.95.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.17) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 227.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.