Bell Bank Purchases 52,771 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Bell Bank raised its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 331,802 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,771 shares during the period. Pfizer makes up about 0.7% of Bell Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Bell Bank’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $8,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Drum Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $292,000. Crumly & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 12,722 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,942 shares in the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 423,230 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,228,000 after acquiring an additional 139,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $140,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $26.32 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $26.30 and its 200 day moving average is $27.42. 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 company has a market capitalization of $149.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.48 and a fifty-two week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.54%. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.92.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.