Leelyn Smith LLC Grows Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Leelyn Smith LLC raised its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,456 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,382 shares during the quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 11.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,766,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 71,794,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,008,798,000 after buying an additional 2,241,609 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Pfizer by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 16,819,712 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $486,762,000 after buying an additional 100,900 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Pfizer by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,560,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $477,929,000 after acquiring an additional 456,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Pfizer by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,553,997 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $479,073,000 after acquiring an additional 658,420 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $25.63 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $145.24 billion, a PE ratio of 34.64, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.67. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $28.21 and a 200 day moving average of $28.57.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. Pfizer’s revenue was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.17) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.55%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 227.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PFE shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Pfizer from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa America raised shares of Pfizer from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pfizer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.92.

Insider Transactions at Pfizer

In related news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.