Bfsg LLC Reduces Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Bfsg LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 33.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 182,195 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 90,977 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $4,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,405,930,000 after buying an additional 3,405,539 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,766,366,000 after buying an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,392,342,000 after buying an additional 1,855,419 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 22.4% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 6,977,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,286,805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $564,739,000 after buying an additional 4,726,549 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial cut their target price on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut Pfizer from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 54,560,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,524,395. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The company's fifty day moving average price is $26.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.42. The company has a market capitalization of $149.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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 $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Pfizer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer's payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.