CX Institutional Grows Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

CX Institutional grew its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,390 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,183 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PFE. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer by 6.6% in the second quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 95,592 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,675,000 after purchasing an additional 5,932 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at about $738,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 612,429 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $17,068,000 after acquiring an additional 9,435 shares during the period. Sender Co & Partners Inc. bought a new position in Pfizer during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $499,000. Finally, Smith Thornton Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $311,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE:PFE opened at $26.10 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 227.03%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

Pfizer Company 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.