Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 1,666,189 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 47.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,152,861 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,666,189 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.09% of Pfizer worth $136,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFE. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Pfizer by 0.7% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,745,831 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $166,284,000 after purchasing an additional 37,636 shares in the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 37.8% in the third quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 21,086 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 5,785 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 7.0% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 18,865 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC grew its position in Pfizer by 2.0% in the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 25,102 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $726,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Price Performance

NYSE PFE opened at $25.93 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.48 and a 12-month high of $31.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Pfizer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.63%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.99%.

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.

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