Howard Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Howard Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 129,932 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 8,104 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its position in Pfizer by 102.8% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38,015 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Pfizer in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management lifted its position in Pfizer by 168.3% in the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on PFE. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of PFE stock opened at $26.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $149.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $26.30 and its 200 day moving average is $27.41. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.48 and a twelve month high of $31.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

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. The company 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 revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid 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 6.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

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.