Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by Captrust Financial Advisors

Captrust Financial Advisors lessened its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,412,507 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 35,457 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Pfizer were worth $40,878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after buying an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Pfizer by 279.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,481,000 after acquiring an additional 8,378,173 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,101,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977,587 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at about $146,481,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 164.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $211,737,000 after purchasing an additional 4,546,809 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PFE shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Pfizer from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Daiwa America raised Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.92.

Pfizer Stock Up 1.5 %

PFE stock opened at $26.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $27.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.49. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The company’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors 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 6.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 227.03%.

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.