Empire Financial Management Company LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Empire Financial Management Company LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 24.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,195 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 23,109 shares during the period. Empire Financial Management Company LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Passumpsic Savings Bank increased its stake in Pfizer by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 25,680 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $743,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,499,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Pfizer by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,008 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Pfizer by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,515 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,649,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.95. The company had a trading volume of 35,816,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,554,253. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.92 and a 1 year high of $31.54. The company has a market cap of $130.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PFE shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.57.

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.