Meridian Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 91,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $2,651,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Pfizer by 102.8% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38,015 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PFE shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.92.

Pfizer Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PFE traded up $0.52 on Friday, reaching $25.65. The company had a trading volume of 41,896,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,672,200. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $28.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.57. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.48 and a twelve month high of $31.54. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 227.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.