By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Beech Hill Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE – Free Report) by 24.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,124 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 26,454 shares during the period. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PFE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Pfizer by 11.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 279.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,481,000 after buying an additional 8,378,173 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,101,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977,587 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at $146,481,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 164.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $211,737,000 after buying an additional 4,546,809 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFE. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on PFE
Insider Activity
In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.
Pfizer Stock Down 0.7 %
Shares of NYSE PFE traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $26.04. 3,754,666 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,706,238. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.48 and a 1 year high of $31.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.13 and a 200 day moving average of $28.03. The stock has a market cap of $147.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. 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 – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 227.03%.
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.
See Also
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