Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by AR Asset Management Inc.

AR Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 134,965 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 20,000 shares during the period. AR Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Pfizer by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,405,930,000 after buying an additional 3,405,539 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,392,342,000 after buying an additional 1,855,419 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% during 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 buying an additional 6,977,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,286,805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $564,739,000 after buying an additional 4,726,549 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reduced their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE:PFE opened at $26.32 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The stock has a market cap of $149.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.42.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 121.99%.

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.