Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by Romano Brothers AND Company

Romano Brothers AND Company cut its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 81,018 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 9,345 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% during the third 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 last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Pfizer by 279.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $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 raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the third quarter worth about $146,481,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 4,546,809 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE opened at $26.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $149.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.99. 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 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.17) EPS. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 232.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective 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 issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

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.