Fisher Funds Management LTD Buys Shares of 445,704 Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 445,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $11,804,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% during the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38,015 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management raised its holdings in Pfizer by 168.3% during the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Pfizer from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.92.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

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

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE PFE opened at $26.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $149.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The business's 50-day moving average price is $26.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.41. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.48 and a twelve month high of $31.54.

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 business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Pfizer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.99%.

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.

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