Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 125,442 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares during the period. Pfizer accounts for 1.1% of Shoker Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $3,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP increased its holdings in Pfizer by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP now owns 17,401 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the period. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 205.4% during the 4th quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 44,900 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 30,200 shares in the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 1,016,016 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,955,000 after purchasing an additional 5,162 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 246,357 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,536,000 after buying an additional 10,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at $570,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.92.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.3 %

PFE opened at $26.09 on Friday. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.48 and a 12 month high of $31.54. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $26.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.35. The company has a market cap of $147.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.26 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Company 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.