Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 24.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,871 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,904 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Pfizer were worth $4,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in shares of Pfizer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $509,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 1,282.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 666,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $17,677,000 after purchasing an additional 618,117 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 12.5% during the 4th 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. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 12,571 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Old North State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 79,441 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,109,000 after buying an additional 15,194 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on PFE. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price target (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased 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. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.17.

Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $23.36. The stock had a trading volume of 30,404,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,940,194. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.92 and a 12 month high of $31.54. The firm has a market cap of $132.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57. The business's 50-day moving average is $22.97 and its 200 day moving average is $25.01.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 12.62%. 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 company earned $0.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.36%. Pfizer's payout ratio is presently 124.64%.

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.