Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY

Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY cut its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 253,278 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 38,127 shares during the quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $6,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management lifted its stake in Pfizer by 168.3% in the third 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 during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 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, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 Price Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $26.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $152.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.29, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.94. 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 quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.43 dividend. 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 6.40%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 227.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PFE shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial lowered their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

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.