Argent Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Argent Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 86,960 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 12,178 shares during the quarter. Pfizer accounts for about 0.9% of Argent Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $420,000. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 100,703 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,672,000 after purchasing an additional 6,888 shares in the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Pitti Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $375,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its stake in Pfizer by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 902,242 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $23,936,000 after purchasing an additional 133,084 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock purchased 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE stock opened at $26.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $147.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $26.22 and its 200 day moving average is $27.10.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. Research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

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.