Costello Asset Management INC Increases Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Costello Asset Management INC grew its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 461.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,925 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 46,795 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFE. LGT Group Foundation lifted its position in Pfizer by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 742,875 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $20,786,000 after buying an additional 18,274 shares during the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,972,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 1,168,315 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,811,000 after purchasing an additional 27,562 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 1,439,745 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $41,666,000 after purchasing an additional 48,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its position in Pfizer by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,820,731 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $52,692,000 after purchasing an additional 266,167 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $26.72 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $25.20 and a one year high of $31.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.42 billion, a PE ratio of 36.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.67.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.29%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 227.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PFE. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.