Argyle Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Argyle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 134,806 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,320 shares during the period. Pfizer accounts for 1.4% of Argyle Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Pfizer by 102.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38,015 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 168.3% in the third 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 period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on PFE. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Pfizer Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of PFE stock opened at $26.09 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.35 and a 200 day moving average of $27.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.48 and a 1-year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Pfizer Company 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.