Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Sells 1,072 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,144 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,072 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PFE. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,745,831 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $166,284,000 after acquiring an additional 37,636 shares during the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 21,086 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 5,785 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 18,865 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the 3rd quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 25,102 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Pfizer

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com lowered Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $25.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $146.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.48 and a 12 month high of $31.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $26.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.27.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.63%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.99%.

Pfizer Company 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.