Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Lowers Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 81,991 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 18,225 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the third quarter worth about $30,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer by 304.9% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 1,077 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the third quarter worth about $34,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 52,350.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $25.40 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $26.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.42. The firm has a market cap of $143.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.61. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.20 and a 52 week high of $40.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.37 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 3.62%. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was down 41.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.61%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 466.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on PFE. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Pfizer from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $32.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Argus downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.33.

Pfizer Profile

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.