Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Bought by Trust Co of the South

Trust Co of the South raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 28,945 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,667 shares during the period. Trust Co of the South’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 18.2% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 35.9% in the second quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 52,975 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after acquiring an additional 13,988 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in Pfizer by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 486,773 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,620,000 after purchasing an additional 4,120 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 16,414 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 2,558 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 69,003 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,931,000 after purchasing an additional 4,012 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PFE shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.14.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of PFE traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $26.62. The company had a trading volume of 18,447,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,828,066. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $150.86 billion, a PE ratio of 35.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.46%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 232.43%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company 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.