Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 366,688 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lowered its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,453,989 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 366,688 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $65,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP increased its position in Pfizer by 102.8% during 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 during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Pfizer during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 168.3% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of PFE opened at $26.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.97. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54. The company has a market capitalization of $147.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.17) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.61%. 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 presently 227.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.