Optimist Retirement Group LLC Lowers Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Optimist Retirement Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 62.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 28,114 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 46,223 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 223,686 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,934,000 after purchasing an additional 42,570 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its stake in Pfizer by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 208,071 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,520,000 after buying an additional 12,724 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in Pfizer by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 71,778 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,898,000 after buying an additional 4,084 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Pfizer by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,907,682 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $104,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 33,307 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $884,000 after acquiring an additional 7,602 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE PFE opened at $26.46 on Thursday. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.48 and a 12 month high of $31.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.79. The stock has a market cap of $149.94 billion, a PE ratio of 35.76, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.50%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 232.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.