Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Grows Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 21.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 335,556 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,378 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $9,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PFE. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Gladius Capital Management LP increased its position in Pfizer by 102.8% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PFE. StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE:PFE opened at $25.65 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.48 and a fifty-two week high of $31.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.36 billion, a PE ratio of 34.66, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $28.21 and its 200 day moving average is $28.57.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is 227.03%.

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.