CX Institutional Grows Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

CX Institutional grew its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 50,390 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,183 shares during the period. CX Institutional’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Pfizer by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,424,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% during the third quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 42,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Pfizer by 1.5% in the second quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup began coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $26.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.95. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.17) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 227.03%.

Pfizer 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.