Somerset Trust Co Has $571,000 Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Somerset Trust Co lowered its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 43.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,521 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 16,475 shares during the period. Somerset Trust Co's holdings in Pfizer were worth $571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Pfizer by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 127,967 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,395,000 after acquiring an additional 48,397 shares during the last quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 11,598 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 9,563 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,857,000. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 155,044 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,113,000 after buying an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 35,146,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,869,448. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $26.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.48 and a 12 month high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. Pfizer's revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Pfizer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 227.03%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut Pfizer from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.00.

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.