Clare Market Investments LLC Purchases New Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Clare Market Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 41,277 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,095,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Pfizer by 1.2% during 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Pfizer by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,124,330,000 after buying an additional 25,315,159 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $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 raised its holdings in 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 period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Pfizer by 28.5% during 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. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Price Performance

NYSE:PFE opened at $26.71 on Monday. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.44%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 121.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

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.