Essex LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Essex LLC lowered its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 15.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,575 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 11,150 shares during the quarter. Essex LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Gould Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Pfizer by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PFE. Hsbc Global Res raised 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.17.

Pfizer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFE opened at $24.20 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $23.46 and its 200 day moving average is $24.84. The stock has a market cap of $137.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.57. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.92 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.11%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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