Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 121,976 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 13,796 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38,015 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management lifted its position in Pfizer by 168.3% in the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $26.89 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.41 billion, a PE ratio of 36.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.90. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 232.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on PFE shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. 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. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.