First Financial Bank Trust Division Increases Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 12.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 209,374 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 23,200 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $5,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 417,070 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,007,000 after purchasing an additional 18,611 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $157,215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,365,295 shares in the last quarter. LifePlan Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth $255,000. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth $16,166,000. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 173,793 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,004,000 after purchasing an additional 74,487 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pfizer Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PFE traded up $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,707,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,175,031. 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 12 month low of $25.20 and a 12 month high of $39.87. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.13 billion, a PE ratio of -455.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.18%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is -2,799.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PFE shares. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday. Argus downgraded shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.86.

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.