Willis Investment Counsel Buys 103,590 Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Willis Investment Counsel lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - Free Report) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,522,428 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 103,590 shares during the period. Pfizer makes up about 2.6% of Willis Investment Counsel's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Willis Investment Counsel's holdings in Pfizer were worth $38,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Hsbc Global Res raised Pfizer to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued 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.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.17.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE:PFE traded down $0.33 during mid-day 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 current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $139.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.57. Pfizer Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.92 and a 1-year high of $31.54. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $23.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.97.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $13.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The firm's 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 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Pfizer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.