SNS Financial Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

SNS Financial Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,984 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,140 shares during the period. SNS Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,405,930,000 after acquiring an additional 3,405,539 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 11.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,766,366,000 after acquiring an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,392,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855,419 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 22.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,101,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977,587 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,286,805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $564,739,000 after acquiring an additional 4,726,549 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE:PFE opened at $25.87 on Thursday. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The business’s fifty day moving average is $26.28 and its 200 day moving average is $27.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $146.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.65%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 121.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research began 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. UBS Group lowered 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. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.92.

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.