Becker Capital Management Inc. Has $23.02 Million Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Becker Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 867,855 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 85,268 shares during the quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $23,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,535,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,756,738,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285,276 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,124,330,000 after acquiring an additional 25,315,159 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 120,589,782 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,190,131,000 after acquiring an additional 2,923,537 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,328,986,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Pfizer by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,029,604,000 after purchasing an additional 5,350,381 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE opened at $23.80 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.86. The company has a market capitalization of $134.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.92 and a 1 year high of $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The company’s revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. Research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.23%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 121.99%.

Pfizer Company 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.