Willis Investment Counsel Has $37.54 Million Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Willis Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,297,206 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 6,966 shares during the period. Pfizer accounts for 2.4% of Willis Investment Counsel’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $37,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.54.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of PFE opened at $29.16 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $165.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -486.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.67. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $25.20 and a one year high of $33.92.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.14. Pfizer had a negative net margin of 4.66% and a positive return on equity of 8.42%. The company had revenue of $13.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently -2,800.00%.

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.