Lynch & Associates IN Cuts Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Lynch & Associates IN reduced its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 89,748 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,809 shares during the period. Lynch & Associates IN’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PFE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Pfizer by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after buying an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Pfizer by 279.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,481,000 after purchasing an additional 8,378,173 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% during 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 valued at $1,101,713,000 after buying an additional 6,977,587 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter worth approximately $146,481,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 164.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $211,737,000 after acquiring an additional 4,546,809 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Pfizer Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of PFE traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $26.73. 32,549,836 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 35,293,961. The business has a 50 day moving average of $26.21 and a 200 day moving average of $28.05. The company has a market capitalization of $151.48 billion, a PE ratio of 36.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 232.43%.

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.