Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,403,889 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 25,315 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $435,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 147.7% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 78,145 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,073,000 after acquiring an additional 46,601 shares in the last quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC bought a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $618,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. now owns 13,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the period. Skba Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Pfizer by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Skba Capital Management LLC now owns 450,250 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,945,000 after purchasing an additional 21,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Partners in Financial Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $234,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PFE. 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. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup cut their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.6 %

Pfizer stock opened at $25.36 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.88. The stock has a market cap of $143.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.48 and a 52 week high of $31.54. 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 (NYSE:PFE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased 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 $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.