Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Sells 3,818 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,268 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,818 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 0.6% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,819,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $486,762,000 after acquiring an additional 100,900 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,766,366,000 after buying an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Pfizer by 80.9% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 508,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $14,709,000 after buying an additional 227,349 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Pfizer by 394.2% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 52,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,512,000 after buying an additional 41,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Pfizer by 26.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,105,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $89,872,000 after purchasing an additional 639,985 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.5 %

PFE stock opened at $25.87 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $26.28 and its 200 day moving average is $27.72. The stock has a market cap of $146.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.65%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 121.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

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.