LS Investment Advisors LLC Sells 14,560 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

LS Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 15.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,452 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 14,560 shares during the quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gould Capital LLC raised its stake in 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 Pfizer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Pfizer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Pfizer Trading Down 1.2%

PFE traded down $0.29 during trading on Thursday, hitting $23.11. 33,167,122 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 40,982,550. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.92 and a 12-month high of $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.02 and a 200 day moving average of $25.02.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $13.72 billion during 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.44%. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is currently 124.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.17.

Pfizer Company 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.