Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 21.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,484 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 10,782 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $509,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Pfizer by 1,282.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 666,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $17,677,000 after buying an additional 618,117 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Pfizer by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 18,766 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 2,087 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC boosted its position in Pfizer by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 15,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,286,805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $564,739,000 after acquiring an additional 4,726,549 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE stock traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.51. The stock had a trading volume of 46,354,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,162,088. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.97. The stock has a market cap of $139.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.92 and a 52-week high of $31.54.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The company had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. Pfizer's revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 124.64%.

About Pfizer

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.