Scotia Capital Inc. Sells 328,203 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Scotia Capital Inc. lessened its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 29.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 794,246 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 328,203 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $21,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of PFE stock opened at $22.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.51. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.92 and a 1 year high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its 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 business 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%. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on PFE. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.07.

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.