Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Has $2.01 Million Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,588 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38,015 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management boosted its position in Pfizer by 168.3% during the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

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

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE opened at $26.32 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $26.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.41. 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 has a market capitalization of $149.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.54%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on PFE. Citigroup cut 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. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

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.