Global Retirement Partners LLC Lowers Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Global Retirement Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 104,585 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 24,744 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in Pfizer by 1.2% during the third 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,855,419 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised 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 worth $564,739,000 after purchasing an additional 4,726,549 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the business'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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of PFE traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.30. The stock had a trading volume of 37,303,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,975,336. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $26.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.44. The company has a market cap of $149.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a PEG 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.

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 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 analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. The company's revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial cut their price objective 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. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.92.

About Pfizer

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.