Baugh & Associates LLC Boosts Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Baugh & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 194,168 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,025 shares during the quarter. Pfizer accounts for 2.6% of Baugh & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Baugh & Associates LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $4,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 2.8% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 739,236 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $20,684,000 after buying an additional 20,140 shares during the last quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Pfizer by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 22,470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 2,950 shares during the last quarter. Schwerin Boyle Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Pfizer by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Schwerin Boyle Capital Management Inc. now owns 775,125 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $21,688,000 after purchasing an additional 58,850 shares in the last quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 10.3% during the second quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 18,834 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 7.3% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 845,638 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $23,661,000 after purchasing an additional 57,825 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $26.30 on Monday. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.48 and a twelve month high of $31.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $149.06 billion, a PE ratio of 35.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day moving average is $26.08 and its 200 day moving average is $27.99.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.17) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.54%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 227.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.