Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Grows Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 36.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 229,513 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,737 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $6,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Pfizer by 11.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,101,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $146,481,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,286,805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $564,739,000 after acquiring an additional 4,726,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Pfizer by 164.2% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $211,737,000 after purchasing an additional 4,546,809 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of PFE stock opened at $25.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $144.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $26.28 and its 200-day moving average is $27.54. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.48 and a 1 year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 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. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.75%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.