Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 22,020 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 304,979 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 22,020 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $8,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $26.31 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.09. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PFE. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.