Trust Co. of Vermont Sells 84,607 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Trust Co. of Vermont decreased its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) by 20.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 323,516 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 84,607 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Pfizer were worth $8,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Pfizer by 0.7% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,424,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 42,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% during the second quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 35,146,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,869,448. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a P/E/G 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 company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $17.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 16.28% and a net margin of 7.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 31.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders 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 is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.54%. Pfizer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,400. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Pfizer from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

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.