Kovack Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,923 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,187 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Pfizer by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in Pfizer by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 4,073 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 24,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 38,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PFE. StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE stock opened at $26.40 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.36. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.48 and a twelve month high of $31.54. The firm has a market cap of $149.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.99%.

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.