Bailard Inc. Trims Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Bailard Inc. reduced its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,374 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,291 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,416,000 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. State Street Corp increased its stake in Pfizer by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 290,460,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,405,930,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405,539 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Pfizer by 11.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Pfizer by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 117,666,245 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,392,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855,419 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Pfizer by 22.4% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,286,805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $564,739,000 after acquiring an additional 4,726,549 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $26.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $148.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.30. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm 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 an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.56%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PFE shares. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup cut their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.