Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 1,323 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,442 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares during the quarter. Pfizer makes up about 1.1% of Shoker Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38,015 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management lifted its position in Pfizer by 168.3% during the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PFE shares. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup dropped their price target 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 cut Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.3 %

PFE opened at $26.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.35. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.48 and a twelve month high of $31.54. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. 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 (DPR) is presently 121.99%.

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.