YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 60,557 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,580 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Buffington Mohr McNeal purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth $331,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Pfizer by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,165 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Pfizer by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 63,144 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,675,000 after acquiring an additional 3,235 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Finally, Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 26,901 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 7,765 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $26.86 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $152.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.11 and a 200 day moving average of $27.94. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.48 and a 52 week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.17) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 227.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PFE shares. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.