Argyle Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Argyle Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 134,806 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,320 shares during the period. Pfizer makes up 1.4% of Argyle Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC increased its stake in Pfizer by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 10.5% in the third quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 4,073 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% during the third quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 24,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PFE shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE PFE opened at $26.09 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.48 and a 12 month 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 $147.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.35 and its 200 day moving average is $27.35.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 121.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.