Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 124.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 223,203 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 123,543 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $5,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Pfizer by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,071,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $108,002,000 after acquiring an additional 1,080,822 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI raised its position in Pfizer by 118.7% in the fourth quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 294,764 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,820,000 after acquiring an additional 159,984 shares during the period. Mcdonald Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 110,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,926,000 after purchasing an additional 9,963 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Pfizer by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 127,967 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,395,000 after purchasing an additional 48,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic grew its holdings in Pfizer by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 85,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,255,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock acquired 19,457 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.65 per share, for a total transaction of $499,072.05. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This 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 this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PFE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.17.

Pfizer Stock Down 0.5 %

Pfizer stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.78. 46,732,928 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,522,162. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.92 and a 12 month high of $31.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.67. The company has a market cap of $129.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. The firm had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.55%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is presently 124.64%.

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.