Benchmark Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Benchmark Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PFE. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Gould Capital LLC increased its holdings in Pfizer by 97.2% during the fourth quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PFE. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price objective (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.17.

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE stock opened at $23.44 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.16 and a 200-day moving average of $25.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.92 and a 12 month high of $31.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 124.64%.

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.