Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 3,486 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,456 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,486 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,101,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer during the 3rd quarter worth $146,481,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 164.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $211,737,000 after acquiring an additional 4,546,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 226.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,209,907 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $179,715,000 after purchasing an additional 4,309,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $26.89 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.90. The company has a market cap of $152.41 billion, a PE ratio of 36.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.48 and a 12-month high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.40%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 232.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFE. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

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.