MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Trims Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lowered its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 134,089 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 24,791 shares during the quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 2.5% in the third quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 42,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer by 1.5% in the second quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research initiated 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. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $26.30 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $26.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.99. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The company has a market cap of $149.06 billion, a PE ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 0.64 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 (NYSE:PFE) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.54%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Pfizer 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.