Bell Bank Decreases Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Bell Bank trimmed its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 14.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 279,031 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 48,074 shares during the period. Pfizer makes up about 1.0% of Bell Bank's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Bell Bank's holdings in Pfizer were worth $8,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 394.2% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 52,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,512,000 after acquiring an additional 41,668 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 4.3% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 13,118,764 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $379,657,000 after acquiring an additional 544,418 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 2.5% in the second quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 742,875 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $20,786,000 after acquiring an additional 18,274 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the third quarter valued at $2,972,000. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 2.4% in the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 1,168,315 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,811,000 after acquiring an additional 27,562 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Price Performance

Pfizer stock traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $26.53. 8,927,111 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,646,727. 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 company has a market capitalization of $150.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $28.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.67. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.20 and a 1 year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the previous year, the business earned ($0.17) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 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 6.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 227.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $282,400. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PFE shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup assumed 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. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.58.

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.