Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Raises Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 64.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 141,049 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,294 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Pfizer by 17.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,820,731 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $52,692,000 after acquiring an additional 266,167 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Pfizer by 0.7% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,745,831 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $166,284,000 after acquiring an additional 37,636 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer by 8.1% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 77,912 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,255,000 after acquiring an additional 5,854 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer by 154.1% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 15,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 9,400 shares during the period. Finally, Good Life Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 7.4% in the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 56,199 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 3,869 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $25.50 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.48 and a twelve month high of $31.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $26.28 and its 200 day moving average is $27.62. 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 cap of $144.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Pfizer’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 6.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on PFE. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.92.

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.