Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Increases Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,758 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,078 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PFE. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 612,429 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $17,068,000 after acquiring an additional 9,435 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $409,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Pfizer during the second quarter worth $31,000. IMS Capital Management boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 2.0% in the second quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 104,938 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,029 shares during the period. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Pfizer during the second quarter valued at $596,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $26.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $151.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.20, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.92. 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 data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is 227.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Company 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.