Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by Peoples Financial Services CORP.

Peoples Financial Services CORP. lessened its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 43,732 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,352 shares during the quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PFE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 279.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,378,173 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,481,000 after purchasing an additional 8,378,173 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,068,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,101,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 3rd quarter valued at about $146,481,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 164.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 7,316,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $211,737,000 after purchasing an additional 4,546,809 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:PFE opened at $26.41 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.03. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.48 and a 52 week high of $31.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.51%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 232.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on PFE shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

Pfizer 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.