First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Has $5.08 Million Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 18.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 191,332 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 43,670 shares during the quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $5,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% in the third quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.7% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 10.5% in the third quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 4,073 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% in the third quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 24,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE stock opened at $25.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $146.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.72. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. Pfizer’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PFE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 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 two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

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.