Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 184,109 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Private Advisor Group LLC lowered its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 21.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 665,476 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 184,109 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $17,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 102.8% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38,015 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 168.3% in the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.2 %

Pfizer stock opened at $25.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $146.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 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 fifty day simple moving average of $26.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.45.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. Pfizer’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.65%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PFE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

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.