WCM Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 337.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,675 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,085 shares during the quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of Pfizer 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $282,400. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PFE. UBS Group upped their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.58.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:PFE traded up $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.43. 16,760,623 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 37,635,352. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.67. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.20 and a 52-week high of $31.54. 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 business's fifty 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The firm's revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.36%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 227.03%.

Pfizer 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.