Hamel Associates Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Hamel Associates Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,225 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 16,793 shares during the quarter. Hamel Associates Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Pfizer by 102.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38,015 shares during the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $26.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $149.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.34.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.51%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com lowered Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.