Mengis Capital Management Inc. Has $1.72 Million Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Mengis Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,911 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Pfizer by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,143,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,766,366,000 after buying an additional 12,864,343 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Pfizer by 22.4% in the 3rd 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 valued at $1,101,713,000 after buying an additional 6,977,587 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Pfizer by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,286,805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $564,739,000 after buying an additional 4,726,549 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in Pfizer by 164.2% in 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 buying an additional 4,546,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 4,309,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

Pfizer stock opened at $26.67 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $151.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $24.48 and a one year high of $31.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.38.

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 return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Pfizer’s revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 given a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.45%. Pfizer’s payout ratio is presently 121.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pfizer

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on PFE shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI upgraded Pfizer to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.