Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC Buys New Stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC bought a new position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 15,043 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $399,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 518,535,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $13,756,738,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285,276 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Pfizer by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,459,101 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,124,330,000 after acquiring an additional 25,315,159 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Pfizer by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 120,589,782 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,190,131,000 after buying an additional 2,923,537 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at $2,328,986,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Pfizer by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 76,502,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,029,604,000 after buying an additional 5,350,381 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Pfizer news, Director Ronald E. Blaylock bought 19,457 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.65 per share, with a total value of $499,072.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 27,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,684.55. This trade represents a 235.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock traded down $0.34 on Monday, hitting $23.86. 40,532,428 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 40,491,431. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.67. Pfizer Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.92 and a 52 week high of $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.73.

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

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 124.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on PFE. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.17.

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.