Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Raises Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 23.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 762,976 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 147,405 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $22,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter worth $29,000. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its position in Pfizer by 102.8% during the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38,015 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter worth about $35,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $25.37 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. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.29. The company has a market cap of $143.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.28, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.78%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 227.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.43.

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.