Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 12.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 340,610 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 50,404 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Pfizer were worth $9,857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. XML Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 182,019 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,268,000 after buying an additional 2,690 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 300,430 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $8,694,000 after acquiring an additional 3,243 shares during the period. Kerusso Capital Management LLC grew its position in Pfizer by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 111,081 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,215,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.4% during the third quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 1,349,889 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $39,066,000 after purchasing an additional 4,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,699,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $107,057,000 after purchasing an additional 103,548 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PFE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup started coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Pfizer from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.58.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:PFE traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.72. 55,951,315 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,136,520. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.20 and a fifty-two week high of $31.54. The company has a market capitalization of $151.42 billion, a PE ratio of 36.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.65.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.17) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.29%. Pfizer's payout ratio is 227.03%.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.