LifePlan Financial LLC Trims Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

LifePlan Financial LLC cut its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,772 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 933 shares during the period. LifePlan Financial LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Pfizer by 11.0% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Pfizer by 279.3% during 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 during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in 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 worth $1,101,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Pfizer in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $146,481,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in Pfizer by 164.2% during 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 buying an additional 4,546,809 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PFE shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Pfizer Price Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $26.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $149.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.98. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.48 and a 1 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.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.54%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 227.03%.

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.