Empirical Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 383.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,622 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,356 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PFE. Gladius Capital Management LP raised its stake in Pfizer by 102.8% during 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. Quarry LP bought a new position in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management increased its stake in Pfizer by 168.3% during the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Pfizer in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PFE shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE PFE traded down $0.19 on Friday, hitting $26.30. 35,146,711 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 35,869,448. 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 50 day moving average price is $26.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.99. The company has a market capitalization of $149.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.54%. This is an increase from Pfizer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

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.