Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,838 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,248 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 83,673 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,220,000 after purchasing an additional 6,028 shares during the last quarter. Northstar Group Inc. lifted its position in Pfizer by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 15,276 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 2,050 shares in the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Pfizer by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 14,842 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 4,293 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $857,000. Finally, Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,407 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,791 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE stock opened at $25.76 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $26.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.77. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.48 and a 12-month 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. The company has a market capitalization of $145.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PFE. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

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.