Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. Trims Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. reduced its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 50.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,156 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 9,240 shares during the period. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 133.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 125,023 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,317,000 after purchasing an additional 71,464 shares in the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 39,811 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 5,348 shares in the last quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 39,159 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 8,909 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth $8,382,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at $754,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $25.50 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.28 and a 200-day moving average of $27.58. The firm has a market cap of $144.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group reduced their target price 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, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.