Wesbanco Bank Inc. Lowers Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. decreased its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 199,662 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 49,599 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $5,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 102.8% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38,015 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Pfizer in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management raised its stake in Pfizer by 168.3% in the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

NYSE PFE opened at $26.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $26.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.97. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.48 and a 1 year high of $31.54. The company has a market cap of $147.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.61%. 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 is presently 227.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

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.