626 Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

626 Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,849 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 6,514 shares during the period. Pfizer accounts for approximately 0.7% of 626 Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. 626 Financial LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,819,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $486,762,000 after buying an additional 100,900 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,766,366,000 after buying an additional 12,864,343 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 80.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 508,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $14,709,000 after buying an additional 227,349 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 394.2% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 52,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,512,000 after buying an additional 41,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,105,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $89,872,000 after buying an additional 639,985 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Price Performance

NYSE PFE opened at $26.41 on Wednesday. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.48 and a 52 week high of $31.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $149.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $26.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.03.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.17) EPS. Analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 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 issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 232.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on PFE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.