James Investment Research Inc. Sells 1,315 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

James Investment Research Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,277 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,315 shares during the period. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its position in Pfizer by 0.7% during the 3rd 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. PSI Advisors LLC raised its position in Pfizer by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its position in Pfizer by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 4,073 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC raised its position in Pfizer by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 24,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PFE shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Price Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $25.50 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.48 and a 1 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.75%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 121.99%.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.