M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. Makes New Investment in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 16,311 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $433,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38,015 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management increased its holdings in Pfizer by 168.3% in the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PFE shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.00.

Pfizer Price Performance

NYSE:PFE traded down $0.19 on Monday, reaching $26.30. 35,146,711 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 35,869,448. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.99. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.48 and a 12 month high of $31.54. The firm has a market cap of $149.06 billion, a PE ratio of 35.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. 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 (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.17) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. 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 yield of 6.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer's payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.