TCW Group Inc. Purchases 1,971 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

TCW Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,538 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,971 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% during the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38,015 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management grew its position in Pfizer by 168.3% during the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PFE. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $26.67 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.38. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.48 and a 1 year high of $31.54. The company has a market capitalization of $151.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.45%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is 121.99%.

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.