Ruffer LLP Sells 2,319,901 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Ruffer LLP lowered its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 35.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,206,387 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,319,901 shares during the period. Pfizer comprises 4.0% of Ruffer LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Ruffer LLP owned approximately 0.07% of Pfizer worth $111,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Pfizer by 0.7% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC grew its position in Pfizer by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 1.6% in the third quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 24,978 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its stake in Pfizer by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 38,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Pfizer by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 7,549 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on PFE shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target 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. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Pfizer from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.92.

Pfizer Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of PFE opened at $26.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.24. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.48 and a twelve month high of $31.54.

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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.44%. This is a positive change from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the purchase, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate 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.