Highland Capital Management LLC Has $1.34 Million Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Highland Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,456 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,486 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Pfizer by 0.7% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% during the third quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 42,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,235,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 4,073 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Price Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $26.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.34, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.90.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The business had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) earnings per share. Pfizer’s revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.40%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 232.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on PFE shares. StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

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.