Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Stake Decreased by Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.

Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 71,959 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,305 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 5,801 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 1,926 shares during the period. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 192,185 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,099,000 after acquiring an additional 2,706 shares during the period. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 24,967 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Finally, Burney Co. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 262.8% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 143,731 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,813,000 after acquiring an additional 104,112 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

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

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $26.25 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $148.76 billion, a PE ratio of 35.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.03.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share 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 of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.55%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 227.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on PFE shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.