Apella Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Apella Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,228 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 3,035 shares during the quarter. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gladius Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38,015 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Pfizer in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 168.3% during the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE:PFE opened at $26.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.76 billion, a PE ratio of 35.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. 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 firm posted ($0.17) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.55%. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 232.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has an average 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.