J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 28.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,553 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 24,593 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its stake in Pfizer by 102.8% during the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38,015 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Pfizer during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management grew its stake in Pfizer by 168.3% during the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the purchase, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $25.50 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $144.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.75%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.99%.

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.