Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 64,578 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 28.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,935 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 64,578 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Pfizer were worth $4,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lipe & Dalton lifted its stake in Pfizer by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 2,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 27,444 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 114,358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,034,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Pfizer by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 35,694 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $947,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Noesis Capital Mangement Corp raised its holdings in Pfizer by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp now owns 16,357 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Price Performance

PFE stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.97. The company had a trading volume of 62,625,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,335,339. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.92 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $136.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.57.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $13.72 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is presently 124.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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