Hennessy Advisors Inc. Acquires 34,300 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 19.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 208,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 34,300 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Pfizer were worth $5,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Gould Capital LLC raised its holdings in Pfizer by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued 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. UBS Group increased their target price on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.17.

Pfizer Trading Down 1.3%

Pfizer stock opened at $24.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Pfizer Inc. has a one year low of $20.92 and a one year high of $31.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57. The business's fifty day moving average is $23.06 and its 200 day moving average is $24.95.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 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 company had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. Pfizer's revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.02%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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