Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Purchased by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,301,369 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 195,936 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.06% of Pfizer worth $87,586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PFE. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Pfizer during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,322,000. Apexium Financial LP raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 72.5% in the 4th quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 22,772 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 9,570 shares during the period. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 94,312 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,508,000 after acquiring an additional 5,632 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Pfizer by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 61,517 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 7,958 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 206,418 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,476,000 after purchasing an additional 5,157 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pfizer news, Director Scott Gottlieb acquired 1,000 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.24 per share, with a total value of $28,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.3 %

PFE stock opened at $26.10 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $147.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.48 and a 12 month 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 50 day simple moving average of $26.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.94.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.17) EPS. Pfizer’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.59%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.