Wills Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Wills Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,501 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,832 shares during the period. Wills Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PSI Advisors LLC increased its position in Pfizer by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 38,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 7,549 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Lipe & Dalton raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 2,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 18,811 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $22.95 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 stock has a market cap of $130.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $20.92 and a one year high of $31.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.97.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the acquisition, the director now directly 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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price objective (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.57.

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.