Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. Reduces Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,205 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,250 shares during the period. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Pfizer by 52,350.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 304.9% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 1,077 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the period. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

NYSE PFE traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.81. 60,568,852 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,900,304. The company has a market capitalization of $157.48 billion, a PE ratio of -463.42, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.20 and a 52-week high of $40.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.88 and its 200-day moving average is $28.21.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.26. Pfizer had a positive return on equity of 8.58% and a negative net margin of 0.56%. The business had revenue of $14.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently -2,799.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PFE shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Argus lowered shares of Pfizer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.00.

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.