Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Holdings Trimmed by Vista Investment Partners LLC

Vista Investment Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 69.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 21,578 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 48,220 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38,015 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management grew its position in Pfizer by 168.3% during the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased 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. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.3 %

PFE stock opened at $26.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.94. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.17) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.59%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 227.03%.

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.