Flputnam Investment Management Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. reduced its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 195,257 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 39,346 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $5,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 102.8% during the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38,015 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the third quarter worth $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 168.3% during the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial decreased 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. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $26.43 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.48 and a 52 week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 6.51%. 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%.

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.