Wedmont Private Capital Sells 6,639 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Wedmont Private Capital lessened its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 17.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,834 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,639 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Pfizer by 0.7% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. raised its position in Pfizer by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 42,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,235,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 4,073 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.5 %

PFE opened at $26.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $149.67 billion, a PE ratio of 35.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.03. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.48 and a 52 week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 232.43%.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. This represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PFE shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

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.