Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Bought by Callahan Advisors LLC

Callahan Advisors LLC raised its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 488,294 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 69,155 shares during the period. Pfizer comprises 1.2% of Callahan Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Callahan Advisors LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $12,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $8,405,930,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405,539 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Pfizer by 11.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,392,342,000 after buying an additional 1,855,419 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,286,805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $564,739,000 after buying an additional 4,726,549 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of PFE stock traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.32. 54,560,140 shares of the stock traded hands, 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 firm has a market capitalization of $149.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $26.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Pfizer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.54%. Pfizer's payout ratio is presently 121.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 27,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed 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 reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.