Emerald Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 28,474 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 2,190 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% during the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38,015 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 168.3% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $25.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34, a PEG ratio of 0.63 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. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.28 and a 200 day moving average of $27.45.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.