Passumpsic Savings Bank Decreases Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Passumpsic Savings Bank reduced its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 991 shares during the period. Passumpsic Savings Bank’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Drum Hill Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $243,000. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Crumly & Associates Inc. raised its position in Pfizer by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 12,722 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its position in Pfizer by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 423,230 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,228,000 after purchasing an additional 139,215 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $140,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $26.32 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The stock has a market cap of $149.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $26.30 and its 200 day moving average is $27.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.54%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is 121.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PFE shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.