Delta Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 96,658 Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Delta Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 96,658 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $2,564,000. Pfizer accounts for approximately 0.6% of Delta Financial Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 0.6% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,819,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $486,762,000 after acquiring an additional 100,900 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 80.9% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 508,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $14,709,000 after acquiring an additional 227,349 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 394.2% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 52,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,512,000 after acquiring an additional 41,668 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 26.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,105,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $89,872,000 after acquiring an additional 639,985 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE PFE opened at $26.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.41. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Pfizer's quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Pfizer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.54%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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 raised Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer 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.

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