Vest Financial LLC Acquires 3,573 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,234 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,573 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer by 0.7% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 10.5% during the third quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 4,073 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 24,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE opened at $25.76 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. 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 twelve month low of $24.48 and a twelve month high of $31.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $26.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.73.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS 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 given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.68%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFE. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.92.

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.