Leavell Investment Management Inc. Sells 9,928 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 49,187 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 9,928 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,766,366,000 after buying an additional 12,864,343 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 22.4% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 6,977,587 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the third quarter worth about $146,481,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,546,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 226.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,209,907 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $179,715,000 after purchasing an additional 4,309,076 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Stock Performance

NYSE PFE opened at $25.46 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $26.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.65. Pfizer Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.48 and a 1 year high of $31.54.

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

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is 121.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PFE. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.92.

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.