Searle & CO. Sells 24,469 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Searle & CO. cut its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 29.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 57,343 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 24,469 shares during the period. Searle & CO.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Pfizer in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Pfizer by 52,350.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 304.9% during the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 1,077 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 811 shares during the period. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFE traded up $1.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $27.18. The stock had a trading volume of 87,822,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,510,742. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $153.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.26. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.20 and a fifty-two week high of $40.37.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.29. Pfizer had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 3.62%. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 41.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.18%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 466.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Argus cut Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Pfizer from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $32.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.33.

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.