Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Decreases Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lessened its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 15.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 136,426 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 24,295 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PFE. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in Pfizer by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 417,070 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,007,000 after acquiring an additional 18,611 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in Pfizer by 40.5% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 4,739,672 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $157,215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,365,295 shares during the period. LifePlan Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $255,000. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at $16,166,000. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Pfizer by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 173,793 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,004,000 after acquiring an additional 74,487 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $27.74 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.20 and a twelve month high of $38.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.70. The stock has a market cap of $157.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -462.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.70.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.26. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.64% and a negative net margin of 0.56%. The business had revenue of $14.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -2,799.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PFE. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, June 17th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus downgraded Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.86.

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.