Verus Capital Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Verus Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,300 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,749 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PFE. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% during the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38,015 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management increased its stake in Pfizer by 168.3% in the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE PFE opened at $26.43 on Friday. 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 one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. 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.