Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Stake Boosted by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,301,369 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 195,936 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $87,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Pfizer by 0.7% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,424,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. lifted its stake in Pfizer by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 42,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Pfizer by 1.5% in the second quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $26.10 on Monday. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, 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 current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.94.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on PFE. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. One equities 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 issued 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 $32.00.

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.