Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Boosts Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 8.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 658,388 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 53,526 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Pfizer were worth $19,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 3rd quarter worth $401,000. Hamel Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 3.5% during the third quarter. Hamel Associates Inc. now owns 130,018 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,763,000 after buying an additional 4,410 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the third quarter valued at about $5,289,000. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Pfizer by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,029,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $116,628,000 after buying an additional 153,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barnett & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 5.9% in the third quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 213,625 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,182,000 after purchasing an additional 11,970 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Daiwa America raised shares of Pfizer from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Pfizer from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.58.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock traded up $0.53 on Wednesday, reaching $26.72. 47,944,807 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,776,984. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $25.20 and a one year high of $31.54. The firm has a market cap of $151.42 billion, a PE ratio of 35.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $28.80 and its 200-day moving average is $28.68.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. The company's revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer's payout ratio is 227.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $282,400. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.