First Merchants Corp Has $672,000 Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

First Merchants Corp increased its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,691 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its position in Pfizer by 102.8% during the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38,015 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Pfizer during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management boosted its position in Pfizer by 168.3% during the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 1,229 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE PFE opened at $25.50 on Friday. 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. The firm has a market cap of $144.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.62.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.15. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The firm had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is 121.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In related news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. The trade was a 235.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.